Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 13.3% After Earnings Beat

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) shot up 13.3% during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $201.99 and last traded at $199.88. 28,196,413 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 194% from the average session volume of 9,598,346 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.38.

The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share.

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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock worth $4,015,723 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Oracle Trading Up 13.2%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $558.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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.