Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $174.42.

ORCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Oracle Trading Up 3.8%

ORCL stock opened at $161.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $143.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.60. Oracle has a fifty-two week low of $114.55 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $452.66 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 over the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 284.9% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.