Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

ORCL has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.52.

Oracle Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ORCL opened at $187.08 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $170.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.85. The company has a market capitalization of $518.41 billion, a PE ratio of 48.22, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.02. Oracle has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $191.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. Analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its position in shares of Oracle by 123.2% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 15,710 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,677,000 after purchasing an additional 8,670 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter worth about $3,866,000. B&L Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $624,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,594,000. Finally, Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,444,000. 42.44% of the stock is 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.