DA Davidson Increases Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target to $170.00

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) had its price objective increased by DA Davidson from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the enterprise software provider's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on ORCL. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.30.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL stock traded up $23.29 during trading on Thursday, hitting $199.67. 54,558,768 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,567,888. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle has a 52 week low of $118.86 and a 52 week high of $202.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $558.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Capital & Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 15,727 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 189.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $25,593,000 after purchasing an additional 100,494 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,084,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 550,414 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $91,395,000 after purchasing an additional 65,980 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.