Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 1.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shot up 1.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $192.40 and last traded at $190.77. 1,716,909 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 8,240,389 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, October 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.52.

Oracle Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.14. The company has a market capitalization of $527.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Activity 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently 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.