Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Given New $400.00 Price Target at Cantor Fitzgerald

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price objective raised by Cantor Fitzgerald from $271.00 to $400.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on ORCL. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.23.

Oracle Trading Up 36.0%

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $328.40 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.57. Oracle has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $345.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $922.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 80.42%. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total value of $4,041,142.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 99,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,247,469.76. This trade represents a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead bought 480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the transaction, the director 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,183 shares of company stock valued at $10,353,198 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in Oracle by 71.6% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 257,378 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,984,000 after acquiring an additional 107,404 shares during the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Oracle by 4.3% in the first quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 51,350 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $7,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the first quarter valued at $732,692,000. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in Oracle by 4.8% in the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 1.5% in the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $99,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,426 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.