Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Upgraded to “Buy” at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $368.00 price objective on the enterprise software provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $295.00.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Roth Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.23.

Oracle Stock Up 36.0%

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $328.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $922.41 billion, a PE ratio of 76.02, a P/E/G 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $242.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.57. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 80.42%. Oracle’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at $7,337,214.04. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead bought 480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the acquisition, the director owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,170,865.70. The trade was a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,183 shares of company stock valued at $10,353,198 over the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WT Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $262,000. NWF Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.3% in the second quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,596 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 2.1% during the second quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 21,467 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $4,693,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. American Trust purchased a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter worth about $319,000. Finally, PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter worth about $203,000. Hedge funds and other 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.