Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Evercore ISI Analyst Says

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Evercore ISI from $215.00 to $270.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the enterprise software provider's stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ORCL. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $135.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.37.

Oracle Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE ORCL traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $229.25. The company had a trading volume of 11,324,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,311,750. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $643.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $187.16 and a 200 day moving average of $166.42. Oracle has a 1-year low of $118.86 and a 1-year high of $241.44.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The company's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the sale, the director owned 31,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total value of $76,168,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,097,576 shares in the company, valued at $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 445,366 shares of company stock worth $84,784,653. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 71.6% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 257,378 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $35,984,000 after purchasing an additional 107,404 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $99,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,426 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares during the period. Finally, Peak Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $211,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.