Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target Raised to $342.00 at JMP Securities

Key Points

• JMP Securities has raised Oracle's price target from $315.00 to $342.00, reflecting a potential upside of 41.52% from its previous close.
• Oracle reported earnings of $1.70 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.06, with a revenue of $15.90 billion.
• Overall, 25 analysts have given Oracle a Buy rating, resulting in a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $268.52.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by JMP Securities from $315.00 to $342.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a market outperform rating on the enterprise software provider's stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ORCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Oracle from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America raised shares of Oracle from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $368.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Westpark Capital increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $296.84.

Oracle Stock Down 5.1%

ORCL stock traded down $15.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $292.07. 51,618,969 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,941,788. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.62. Oracle has a 1-year low of $118.86 and a 1-year high of $345.72. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $244.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.37. The firm has a market cap of $820.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.46.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 72.93%. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.30%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total value of $4,041,142.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 99,212 shares in the company, valued at $25,247,469.76. The trade was a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead purchased 480 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $233.87 per share, for a total transaction of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at $5,170,865.70. This represents a 2.22% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,183 shares of company stock worth $10,353,198. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 164,278,874 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,916,290,000 after acquiring an additional 3,353,461 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,459,391 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $16,060,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252,723 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.6% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,741,423 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,760,048,000 after acquiring an additional 120,889 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter valued at $4,275,378,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 13,884,524 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,941,195,000 after acquiring an additional 59,164 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Oracle

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.