Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 1.3% - Still a Buy?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. CIBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.33.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company's 50 day moving average is $183.77 and its 200 day moving average is $165.63. The stock has a market cap of $659.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.02, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.39.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given 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 payout ratio is currently 46.08%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 450,366 shares of company stock valued at $85,433,503 in the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 284.9% in the first quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.