Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Sells 200 Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,624 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in Oracle were worth $604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Oracle by 21.9% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $161.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $450.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $175.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.34. Oracle Co. has a 52-week low of $106.51 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 39.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Company 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.