Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target Increased to $173.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its target price lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $160.00 to $173.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $157.52.

Oracle Stock Up 11.4 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $155.82 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $429.42 billion, a PE ratio of 42.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $138.90 and a 200-day moving average of $129.13. Oracle has a 52-week low of $99.26 and a 52-week high of $160.52.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 223.01% and a net margin of 19.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock worth $266,776,624 over the last ninety days. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Contour Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,950 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $231,203,000 after purchasing an additional 643,490 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 29,301 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after buying an additional 3,291 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 16,995 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,792,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Seven Mile Advisory grew its holdings in Oracle by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 5,236 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,492 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $941,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.