Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price target hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $250.00 to $350.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on ORCL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Oracle from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $250.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.23.

Oracle Stock Up 36.0%

ORCL stock opened at $328.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $922.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.02, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. Oracle has a 12 month low of $118.86 and a 12 month high of $345.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $242.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.57.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 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 the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 80.42%. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Rona Alison Fairhead purchased 480 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,170,865.70. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total transaction of $3,211,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at $13,000,580.20. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,183 shares of company stock worth $10,353,198 in the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.