Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 1.6%

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shot up 1.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $140.62 and last traded at $140.45. 1,164,508 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 8,533,005 shares. The stock had previously closed at $138.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.83.

Oracle Trading Up 1.7 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $387.39 billion, a PE ratio of 37.88, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $2,320,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,976. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $3,220,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 210,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,157,101.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $2,320,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,976. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 348,418 shares of company stock worth $47,784,717. Company insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $18,993,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,569 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Oracle by 0.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,319,604,000 after buying an additional 82,551 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in Oracle by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,539,268,000 after buying an additional 2,191,342 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Oracle by 148.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after acquiring an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,300,941,000 after acquiring an additional 697,961 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.