KeyCorp Issues Positive Forecast for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price objective hoisted by KeyCorp from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JMP Securities raised their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Up 1.1 %

ORCL opened at $185.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Oracle has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $191.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $514.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $173.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.56.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new position in Oracle in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.