Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 2.4% – Here’s What Happened

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares rose 2.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $154.80 and last traded at $152.83. Approximately 2,977,109 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 12,035,341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays cut their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.71.

Oracle Stock Up 3.4 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $431.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Members Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $934,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $100,862,000. Silver Oak Wealth Advisors Services LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $344,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 37,976 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,328,000 after acquiring an additional 4,420 shares during the period. 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.