Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

ORCL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $169.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $171.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.26. Oracle has a 52-week low of $106.51 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $475.24 billion, a PE ratio of 41.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Oracle by 7.2% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 325,610 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $55,484,000 after purchasing an additional 21,832 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 23,743 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,046,000 after buying an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Triton Wealth Management PLLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 5,169 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lwmg LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. 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.