Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 0.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded up 0.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $191.36 and last traded at $189.46. 1,395,517 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 8,253,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on ORCL shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.52.

Oracle Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $167.47 and a 200 day moving average of $144.51. The stock has a market cap of $521.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in Oracle during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. 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.