Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Reaches New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $241.44 and last traded at $238.60, with a volume of 3881226 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $221.00 target price (up from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Bank of America increased their target price on Oracle from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.15.

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $183.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.63. The company has a market cap of $664.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.49, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors 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 0.85%. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $76,168,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead bought 480 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $233.87 per share, for a total transaction of $112,257.60. Following the acquisition, the director owned 22,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,170,865.70. This represents a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 450,366 shares of company stock valued at $85,433,503 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $6,332,803,000 after buying an additional 156,269 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,954,961,000 after buying an additional 619,619 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,366,531,000 after buying an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Oracle by 0.6% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,741,423 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,760,048,000 after buying an additional 120,889 shares during the last quarter. 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.