Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 4.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares traded up 4.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $171.44 and last traded at $169.32. 5,883,027 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 14,729,106 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $476.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $172.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.