Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $250.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Oracle traded as high as $216.93 and last traded at $213.09, with a volume of 1955916 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $215.27.

ORCL has been the subject of several other reports. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Oracle from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $197.67.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total value of $3,211,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 60,722 shares in the company, valued at $13,000,580.20. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 442,366 shares of company stock valued at $83,395,223 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 284.9% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Stock Down 1.2%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $168.42 and a 200-day moving average of $162.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $590.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.42, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.32. 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 (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend 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.