Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target Raised to $240.00

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $200.00 to $240.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the enterprise software provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday. CIBC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $192.30.

Oracle Stock Up 13.2%

Shares of ORCL traded up $23.29 on Thursday, reaching $199.67. The stock had a trading volume of 54,558,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,567,888. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Oracle has a 12-month low of $118.86 and a 12-month high of $202.43. The firm 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.36.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 2.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $22,498,982,000 after buying an additional 3,513,464 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $6,332,803,000 after acquiring an additional 156,269 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,954,961,000 after acquiring an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Oracle by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,741,423 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,760,048,000 after acquiring an additional 120,889 shares during the period. 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.