First Financial Bankshares Inc Raises Holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)

First Financial Bankshares Inc lifted its position in shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,857 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Oracle were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 201.7% in the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in Oracle by 383.4% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after buying an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after buying an additional 32,718 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $149.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.01. The firm has a market cap of $418.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle Co. has a 1 year low of $112.78 and a 1 year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm 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 posted $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.71.

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.