Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. Invests $6.17 Million in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 37,005 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,167,000. Oracle accounts for 4.7% of Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $930,095,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 11.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 12,327,164 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,012,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623,609 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 3,805.0% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 966,571 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $161,069,000 after acquiring an additional 941,819 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of ORCL opened at $155.89 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $167.63 and its 200 day moving average is $169.51. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $111.18 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $436.01 billion, a PE ratio of 38.11, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ORCL. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

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.