D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. Invests $2.39 Million in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 14,312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,385,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AIA Group Ltd grew its position in shares of Oracle by 121.7% during the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 23,156 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,859,000 after buying an additional 12,709 shares during the period. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 20,003 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,333,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Oracle by 200.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 172,483 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $28,743,000 after acquiring an additional 115,059 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 282,892 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $47,141,000 after purchasing an additional 10,015 shares during the period. Finally, United Bank grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. United Bank now owns 13,235 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $140.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ORCL. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

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.