Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.52.

Oracle Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $192.29 on Wednesday. Oracle has a 12-month low of $99.26 and a 12-month high of $196.04. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $175.62 and its 200-day moving average is $149.20. The stock has a market cap of $532.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,352 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,002,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth about $1,531,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Oracle by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,499,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC increased its position in Oracle by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.2% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 108,124 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $18,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.