Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 0.3% Higher

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) was up 0.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $139.79 and last traded at $138.54. Approximately 736,342 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 8,139,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $138.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.83.

Oracle Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $138.95 and its 200-day moving average is $126.63. The firm has a market cap of $383.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 223.01% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $3,220,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 210,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,157,101.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862,500 shares of company stock valued at $266,776,624 in the last 90 days. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 153.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 11,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,260,000 after acquiring an additional 7,230 shares during the period. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth about $3,244,000. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $722,000. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,967 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Brio Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 2,942 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.