Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 1.1% Higher

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $168.35 and last traded at $168.12. 1,789,294 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 8,578,374 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.13.

Oracle Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $463.92 billion, a PE ratio of 45.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,573,181 shares of company stock valued at $225,338,245 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brio Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 2,942 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $359,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $290,000. Finally, 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 90,285 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $9,519,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.