Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 1.5% – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $156.61 and last traded at $154.51. 1,881,535 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 8,489,797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Down 0.8 %

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’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.44. The company has a market cap of $429.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid 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 yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.