Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $166.13.

Several research firms have weighed in on ORCL. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

Oracle Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $168.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. Oracle has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $173.99. The company has a market cap of $465.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.07.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock worth $225,338,245. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

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

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.