Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. Purchases New Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,521 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ORCL traded down $1.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $162.38. The stock had a trading volume of 3,433,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,480,787. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.61. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $114.55 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The firm has a market cap of $454.17 billion, a PE ratio of 39.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens started coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays cut their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

Oracle Profile

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.