Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 1.2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) were up 1.2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $172.87 and last traded at $172.40. Approximately 2,228,724 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 14,569,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $475.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $171.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 16,023.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $351,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052,275 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 11.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 279.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,210,745 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $201,759,000 after acquiring an additional 891,842 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,977,015,000 after acquiring an additional 885,041 shares during the last quarter. 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.