Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Westpark Capital

Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $195.00 target price on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

ORCL has been the subject of several other research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.65.

Oracle Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $142.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $397.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle has a fifty-two week low of $112.78 and a fifty-two week high of $198.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $162.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 181,122 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $25,323,000 after acquiring an additional 7,832 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Oracle by 11.0% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 17,006 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,687 shares during the period. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 65.4% during the first quarter. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $473,000. Finally, Fire Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $800,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.