Melius Research Upgrades Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) to “Buy”

Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius upgraded shares of Oracle from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $163.88.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $170.37 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $472.09 billion, a PE ratio of 45.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $140.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. Oracle has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $173.99.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 37,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.19, for a total transaction of $5,218,011.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $368,246,045.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock valued at $266,776,624. 42.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Werlinich Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.1% during the second quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 2,869 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,372 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.6% in the second quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 12,911 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.2% in the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 6,600 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.