Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 2% After Analyst Upgrade

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) shares traded up 2% on Thursday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $250.00 to $275.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Oracle traded as high as $234.93 and last traded at $234.53. 6,799,077 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 10,071,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.98.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on ORCL. Roth Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI restated a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group set a $250.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total value of $76,168,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,097,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,000,421.92. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,764 shares in the company, valued at $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 440,366 shares of company stock worth $83,103,603 in the last three months. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Trust Co of the South raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 11.1% during the second quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 2,348 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $269,000. Capital Market Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 2,617 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth about $319,000. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA grew its holdings in Oracle by 56.6% during the second quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 12,379 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,706,000 after acquiring an additional 4,472 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $659.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.33.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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