Oracle Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ORCL)

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 127,864 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 98% compared to the typical daily volume of 64,598 call options.

Oracle Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $167.47 on Wednesday. Oracle has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $173.99. The firm has a market cap of $464.05 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $140.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 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 revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Analysts expect that Oracle will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,868,820 shares of company stock valued at $267,819,424. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the first quarter valued at $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.88.

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.