Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 1.4% – Should You Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares traded up 1.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $169.80 and last traded at $169.16. 1,781,054 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 8,547,601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.42.

Oracle Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $147.84 and its 200-day moving average is $135.20. The firm has a market cap of $473.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,010,030.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock valued at $225,338,245. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth about $40,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by 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.