Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 1% on Analyst Upgrade

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) shares rose 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $215.00 to $270.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Oracle traded as high as $232.96 and last traded at $231.65. Approximately 2,413,909 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 10,245,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.28.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. JMP Securities set a $240.00 target price on Oracle and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Westpark Capital lifted their price target on Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Oracle from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total value of $76,168,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,097,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 445,366 shares of company stock valued at $84,784,653. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $22,498,982,000 after buying an additional 3,513,464 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Oracle by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,954,961,000 after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,366,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Oracle by 0.6% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,741,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,760,048,000 after purchasing an additional 120,889 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.32. The company has a market cap of $659.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

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.