Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 0.8% – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price traded up 0.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $175.85 and last traded at $175.09. 872,906 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 8,402,352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Eleven 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.52.

Oracle Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $479.67 billion, a PE ratio of 44.61, a PEG ratio of 3.22 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. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.61.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in Oracle by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,492 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Buckley Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,315 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after purchasing an additional 7,982 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 126,123 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $21,491,000 after purchasing an additional 8,790 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.