Brokerages Set Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) PT at $179.71

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $179.71.

ORCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $149.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $417.76 billion, a PE ratio of 36.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. Oracle has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 1.34%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.3% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,325,268 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $395,295,000 after purchasing an additional 53,128 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the period. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 7.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 10,767 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.