Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $193.21 and last traded at $193.21, with a volume of 29033 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $190.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research reports. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $174.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $540.19 billion, a PE ratio of 50.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,502,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $48,813,000 after buying an additional 126,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 63.8% in the third quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.