Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Sets New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Stephens initiated coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Oracle from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.15.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $661.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.29, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $181.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.14.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,764 shares in the company, valued at $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 450,366 shares of company stock valued at $85,433,503. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 257,378 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,984,000 after purchasing an additional 107,404 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $99,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,426 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peak Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

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.