Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 1% – Still a Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price rose 1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $175.49 and last traded at $175.17. Approximately 1,166,889 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 8,287,284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ORCL. JMP Securities raised their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius Research raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.52.

Oracle Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average is $162.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.58. The company has a market cap of $471.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,010,000 after buying an additional 3,494 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,036 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,432,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 215.1% in the 1st quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 1,169 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 8.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 358,379 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $45,016,000 after purchasing an additional 26,478 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently 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.