Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 1.5% – Still a Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares rose 1.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $156.61 and last traded at $154.51. Approximately 1,881,535 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 8,489,797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $164.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $429.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Oracle by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,954,961,000 after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,366,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.