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

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) rose 1.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $241.44 and last traded at $235.30. Approximately 6,851,048 shares were traded during 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

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JMP Securities set a $240.00 target price on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.33.

Oracle Trading Down 1.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $647.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $185.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.09.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 31,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,507,622.93. The trade was a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 445,366 shares of company stock valued at $84,784,653 over the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 643 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 0.7% in the second quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,930 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,517,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 5,563 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. American Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 2.3% in the second quarter. American Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weatherly Asset Management L. P. boosted its stake in Oracle by 0.4% in the second quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 11,406 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,494,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by 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.