Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 0.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) were up 0.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $177.00 and last traded at $175.74. Approximately 1,536,713 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 8,511,305 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.42.

Oracle Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $150.79 and its 200 day moving average is $136.43. The stock has a market cap of $485.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,010,030.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,146,320 shares of company stock worth $164,762,400. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.1% in the third quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 31,604 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,385,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Martin Capital Advisors LLP raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.8% in the third quarter. Martin Capital Advisors LLP now owns 16,988 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,895,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Affiance Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 34.0% in the third quarter. Affiance Financial LLC now owns 5,097 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 1,293 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 8.4% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 10,853 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Selway Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.3% in the third quarter. Selway Asset Management now owns 38,575 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,573,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.