Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-four research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $227.0357.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Oracle in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Westpark Capital lifted their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total transaction of $3,211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,000,580.20. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. The trade was a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,275,378,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $732,692,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $664,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723,631 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $22,498,982,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $731,512,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $222.89 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $238.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.25. The firm has a market cap of $626.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.36, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.46. Oracle has a 1 year low of $118.86 and a 1 year high of $260.87. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%.The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 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.

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