Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $178.90 and last traded at $178.83, with a volume of 408187 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ORCL. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.52.

Oracle Stock Performance

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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.02. The company has a market cap of $502.23 billion, a PE ratio of 46.63, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% during the third quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 17,626 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. W Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 3.1% in the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.7% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,957 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 3.9% in the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 0.5% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 13,606 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,318,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 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.