Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 4.8% Following Dividend Announcement

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price rose 4.8% on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $211.82 and last traded at $209.42. Approximately 17,249,917 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 80% from the average daily volume of 9,607,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.86.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Oracle from $180.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $194.32.

Oracle Trading Up 7.8%

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 stock has a market capitalization of $602.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.62.

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

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,097,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 427,366 shares of company stock worth $80,183,723. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optima Capital LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Optima Capital LLC now owns 5,072 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 501.9% in the first quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 30,198 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $4,222,000 after purchasing an additional 25,181 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.8% in the first quarter. Cim LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 19.8% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 720 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the first quarter worth $280,000. 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.