Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 1%

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares rose 1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $167.70 and last traded at $166.20. Approximately 2,766,795 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 8,577,352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. JMP Securities raised shares of Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Oracle Trading Up 1.6 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $141.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.19. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $460.56 billion, a PE ratio of 44.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,610,402 shares of company stock worth $230,556,257 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $18,993,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,569 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Oracle by 0.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,319,604,000 after buying an additional 82,551 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,539,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,342 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Oracle by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,242,340 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,869,816,000 after buying an additional 296,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 148.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after purchasing an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.