Fire Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,803 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock, valued at approximately $800,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 201.7% in the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,800,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Oracle by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 564,030 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $93,990,000 after purchasing an additional 163,543 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in Oracle by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 43,851 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $7,307,000 after purchasing an additional 4,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,738,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded up $2.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $165.03. The company had a trading volume of 17,537,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,540,302. The stock has a market capitalization of $461.58 billion, a PE ratio of 40.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $114.55 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock's 50 day moving average is $144.32 and its 200-day moving average is $161.43.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This represents a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital started coverage on Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.