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

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $177.39 and last traded at $174.41. 3,840,441 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 13,276,725 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Up 1.4 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $170.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.11. 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 firm has a market cap of $488.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. 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, January 9th. Investors 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 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,095,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Oracle by 2.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 12,327,164 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,012,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623,609 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.