Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0.9% – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) rose 0.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $175.65 and last traded at $173.14. Approximately 2,138,342 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 13,470,397 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Up 0.8 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $170.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market cap of $484.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.33, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 16,023.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $351,890,000 after buying an additional 2,052,275 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 3,805.0% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 966,571 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $161,069,000 after buying an additional 941,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 279.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,210,745 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $201,759,000 after buying an additional 891,842 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.