DA Davidson Issues Positive Forecast for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price target hoisted by DA Davidson from $220.00 to $300.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

ORCL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Oracle from $196.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Oracle from $270.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.23.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $328.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $242.19 and a 200-day moving average of $188.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $922.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.02, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.46. Oracle has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $345.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 80.42% and a net margin of 21.08%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Rona Alison Fairhead bought 480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,170,865.70. This represents a 2.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at $7,337,214.04. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 44,183 shares of company stock valued at $10,353,198. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 284.9% in the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.