Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 4.5% – What’s Next?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price traded up 4.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $171.44 and last traded at $169.32. 5,883,027 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 14,729,106 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Oracle in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Up 5.2 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $172.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $476.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

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