Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 0.7%

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) was up 0.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $141.91 and last traded at $141.62. Approximately 1,231,810 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 8,605,507 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. William Blair raised shares of Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.83.

Oracle Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $129.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.12. The stock has a market cap of $391.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 223.01% and a net margin of 19.76%. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total transaction of $2,903,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,294.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 385,639 shares of company stock valued at $53,002,729. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $549,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Oracle by 162.5% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,510 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,456,000 after buying an additional 31,890 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $240,000. IMA Wealth Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 23.4% during the third quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 528 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantum Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Oracle by 27.5% during the third quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,912 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.