Oracle’s (ORCL) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Guggenheim

Guggenheim restated their buy rating on shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $220.00 price target on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

ORCL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.65.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $128.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $358.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.34. 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 12-month low of $112.78 and a 12-month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Exeter Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.7% in the first quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 29,511 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $4,126,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 13,694 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 23,452 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 2,193 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 30,025 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,198,000 after acquiring an additional 7,029 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.