Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Lifted to Buy at Melius Research

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

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Melius raised shares of Oracle from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $163.88.

Oracle Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $167.56 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $141.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.44. The company has a market capitalization of $461.77 billion, a PE ratio of 45.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Oracle has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $173.99.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $60,575,844.51. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at $372,764,079.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $60,575,844.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $372,764,079.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,610,402 shares of company stock worth $230,556,257 over the last quarter. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 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.