Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 1.9% - Time to Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1.9% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $171.30 and last traded at $171.36. Approximately 1,427,590 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 9,482,518 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $146.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.77. The stock has a market capitalization 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.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total value of $428,552.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $930,095,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in 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 worth $664,810,000 after acquiring an additional 4,723,631 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 3,513,464 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.