Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 1.3% - Time to Buy?

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $241.44 and last traded at $235.30. 6,851,048 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 10,176,001 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ORCL. CIBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $221.00 target price (up previously from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Evercore ISI reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $195.00 target price (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Ten research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.15.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $181.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $659.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.39.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 450,366 shares of company stock valued at $85,433,503. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 71.6% during the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 257,378 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $35,984,000 after acquiring an additional 107,404 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $99,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,426 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares during the period. Finally, Peak Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.