Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 1.4% - Still a Buy?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) rose 1.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $174.40 and last traded at $173.50. Approximately 1,909,282 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 9,490,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $487.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $147.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.67.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $930,095,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the first quarter valued at $732,692,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Oracle by 15,012.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $664,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $22,498,982,000 after buying an additional 3,513,464 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently 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.