Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 0.6% Higher

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares rose 0.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $169.10 and last traded at $168.08. Approximately 2,186,453 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 8,576,612 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.42.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $146.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $464.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,573,181 shares of company stock valued at $225,338,245 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 111,943 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $19,075,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the period. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the second quarter worth about $1,403,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 47.0% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 27,955 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,947,000 after acquiring an additional 8,939 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,045,000. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.