Citigroup Raises Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target to $157.00

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $140.00 to $157.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ORCL. Guggenheim restated a buy rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $159.68.

Oracle Price Performance

ORCL opened at $162.00 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $446.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.67, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $139.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.90. Oracle has a 12-month low of $99.26 and a 12-month high of $173.93.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Oracle will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Oracle news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total value of $3,220,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 210,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,157,101.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock worth $266,776,624. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.