Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Receives Buy Rating from Guggenheim

Guggenheim reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a $220.00 price objective on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stephens began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $180.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.30.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $199.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $558.47 billion, a PE ratio of 48.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.44. 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 has a one year low of $118.86 and a one year high of $202.49.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 15,727 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Oracle by 189.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $25,593,000 after purchasing an additional 100,494 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,084,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 550,414 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $91,395,000 after purchasing an additional 65,980 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.