Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. Buys Shares of 12,521 Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,521 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens began coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.42.

Oracle Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:ORCL traded up $2.06 on Wednesday, hitting $163.97. The stock had a trading volume of 8,077,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,494,024. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market cap of $458.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.09, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $143.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.60. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $114.55 and a 1-year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

About Oracle

Oracle Corporation offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Its Oracle cloud software as a service offering include various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, Oracle Fusion cloud human capital management, Oracle Cerner healthcare, Oracle Advertising, and NetSuite applications suite, as well as Oracle Fusion Sales, Service, and Marketing.