Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Argus raised their price target on the stock from $145.00 to $159.00. Argus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Oracle traded as high as $143.95 and last traded at $143.37, with a volume of 2078457 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $141.31.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ORCL. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.79.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Michael J. Boskin sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total value of $5,298,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 87,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,299,071.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Boskin sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total transaction of $5,298,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 87,473 shares in the company, valued at $10,299,071.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 880,000 shares of company stock valued at $110,488,150 in the last ninety days. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at about $213,000. SRN Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 12,156 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,478 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX purchased a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at about $167,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,561,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $397.54 billion, a PE ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $121.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.50.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 223.01% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

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.