Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 3.7% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 3.7% during trading on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $250.00 to $280.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Oracle traded as high as $251.60 and last traded at $250.27. 6,901,911 shares traded 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 brokerages have also weighed in on ORCL. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Oracle from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Oracle from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Westpark Capital lifted their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total value of $76,168,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,097,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,000,421.92. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rona Alison Fairhead acquired 480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $233.87 per share, for a total transaction of $112,257.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. The trade was a 2.22% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 445,366 shares of company stock worth $84,784,653. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. City Holding Co. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 28,660 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $6,266,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,000. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 16,469 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,601,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Grandview Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $240,000. Finally, Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 2,444 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.83. The stock has a market cap of $700.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. Oracle's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.08%.

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.

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