Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 3.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 3.7% on Thursday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $240.00 to $315.00. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Oracle traded as high as $251.60 and last traded at $250.27. 6,901,911 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 10,294,847 shares. The stock had previously closed at $241.30.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $218.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $770,655.96. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total value of $3,211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at $13,000,580.20. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 448,669 shares of company stock worth $85,555,309. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 257,378 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $35,984,000 after purchasing an additional 107,404 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. grew its position in Oracle by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 10,165 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its position in Oracle by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 711,290 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $99,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,426 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its position in Oracle by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 12,968 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $689.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.39.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

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.