Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Invests $163,000 in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 977 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $163,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Florida Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 156.2% during the 4th quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 1,991 shares during the period. Aire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 4,924 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 1,785 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Potentia Wealth acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $1,978,000. Finally, PKS Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $357,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $147.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $413.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.28.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

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.