Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 2.6% - Time to Buy?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) shot up 2.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $125.49 and last traded at $126.05. 2,401,897 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 9,309,669 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ORCL. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $146.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.02. The company has a market capitalization of $387.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $930,095,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $664,810,000 after acquiring an additional 4,723,631 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,303,858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.