Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 4.8% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) shares rose 4.8% on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $211.82 and last traded at $209.42. Approximately 17,249,917 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 80% from the average daily volume of 9,607,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.86.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho lowered 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. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $194.32.

Oracle Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $151.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.44. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $602.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 427,366 shares of company stock worth $80,183,723. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $930,095,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter worth about $732,692,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 15,012.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 2.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,513,464 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.