Evercore ISI Issues Positive Forecast for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price target boosted by Evercore ISI from $190.00 to $200.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.63.

Oracle Trading Down 1.8 %

ORCL opened at $175.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $485.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.03. Oracle has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $180.19 and a 200 day moving average of $155.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 79.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $48,813,000 after purchasing an additional 126,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miura Global Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,704,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.