Morse Asset Management Inc Has $492,000 Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Morse Asset Management Inc lessened its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 80.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,950 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after selling 12,250 shares during the quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc's holdings in Oracle were worth $492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $6,332,803,000 after buying an additional 156,269 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,954,961,000 after buying an additional 619,619 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,366,531,000 after buying an additional 1,722,037 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Oracle by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,269,566,000 after buying an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $157.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $439.62 billion, a PE ratio of 38.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. Oracle Co. has a 1-year low of $114.55 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $142.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.76.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.42.

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.

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