Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 3.1% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded up 3.1% during trading on Friday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $220.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Oracle traded as high as $192.22 and last traded at $192.06. 3,113,711 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 8,221,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.24.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Melius Research upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.52.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,977,015,000 after acquiring an additional 885,041 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 11.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Oracle by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,049,824,000 after purchasing an additional 310,709 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,489,345,000 after purchasing an additional 54,868 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $532.21 billion, a PE ratio of 49.50, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $178.90 and its 200-day moving average is $153.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

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.