Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Now Covered by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a sector perform rating and a $165.00 price target on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ORCL. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.52.

Oracle Price Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $173.52 on Wednesday. Oracle has a 52 week low of $99.26 and a 52 week high of $178.61. 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 company has a market capitalization of $478.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $160.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results 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. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.