Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on ORCL. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 20th. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $177.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $495.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.32, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. Oracle has a 1-year low of $106.51 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $170.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 21.9% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Cadence Bank raised its position in shares of Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in 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.