Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 1% – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares shot up 1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $153.74 and last traded at $153.90. 1,513,022 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 8,495,176 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price target on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Up 0.1 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.