Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Research Coverage Started at Stephens

Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $167.00 price target on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $152.83 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.85. Oracle has a twelve month low of $112.78 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $427.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,526,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth $205,000. Triton Wealth Management PLLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 5,584 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Thoma Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $921,000. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 269,266 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $44,871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.