Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 0.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price rose 0.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $193.76 and last traded at $192.97. Approximately 1,168,069 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 8,214,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, October 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The company has a market cap of $532.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $175.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 15.3% during the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in Oracle in the third quarter valued at $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 79.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $48,813,000 after buying an additional 126,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,256,000 after buying an additional 2,870 shares in the last quarter. 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.