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

Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-four analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-four have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $215.61.

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Oracle from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Oracle from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Loop Capital set a $135.00 target price on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th.

Oracle Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of ORCL stock traded up $7.76 on Thursday, hitting $249.06. The company had a trading volume of 17,612,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,334,242. The stock's 50-day moving average is $192.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $699.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.39. Oracle has a twelve month low of $118.86 and a twelve month high of $251.45.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the firm'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. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 445,366 shares of company stock valued at $84,784,653. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $389,000. Chicago Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 50.7% during the second quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 103,303 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $22,585,000 after acquiring an additional 34,737 shares during the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 55.9% during the second quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 53,535 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $11,704,000 after acquiring an additional 19,196 shares during the last quarter. Melfa Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Finally, Hamilton Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 4.5% during the second quarter. Hamilton Capital Partners LLC now owns 94,699 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $20,704,000 after acquiring an additional 4,092 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.