Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 1.7% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded up 1.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $147.77 and last traded at $146.70. 3,887,990 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 11,996,810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price target on shares of Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.85.

Oracle Stock Up 5.0 %

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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.62. The firm has a market cap of $423.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.90, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 37,976 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,328,000 after purchasing an additional 4,420 shares during the period. Campbell Deegan Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Lighthouse Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $573,000. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 9,878 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $276,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.