Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 4.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shot up 4.3% on Monday after Melius Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $169.86 and last traded at $168.92. 8,104,051 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 8,461,667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.03.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on ORCL. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,868,820 shares of company stock worth $267,819,424. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Werlinich Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.1% during the second quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 2.7% in the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 2,869 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 2.4% in the second quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,372 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 0.6% in the second quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 12,911 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.2% in the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 6,600 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Down 1.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $140.89 and its 200-day moving average is $130.95. The company has a market cap of $464.05 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

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.