Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 2% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Oracle's stock increased by 2% on Friday, reaching a high of $232.77 with approximately 4.46 million shares traded, a significant drop from the usual volume.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded Oracle, with Mizuho raising the price target to $300.00 and Deutsche Bank increasing it to $240.00, while the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• The company reported earnings of $1.70 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 paid on July 24th.

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $232.77 and last traded at $227.49. Approximately 4,464,192 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 11,810,583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. CIBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $221.00 price objective (up previously from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.04.

Oracle Stock Up 4.4%

The firm has a market cap of $654.10 billion, a PE ratio of 53.66, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.46. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $239.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.65.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Rona Alison Fairhead bought 480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $233.87 per share, with a total value of $112,257.60. Following the purchase, the director owned 22,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,170,865.70. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,507,622.93. The trade was a 19.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 189.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $25,593,000 after acquiring an additional 100,494 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 11,614 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,935,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares during the period. Full Sail Capital LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 2,034 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Oracle by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 317,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $54,368,000 after acquiring an additional 30,091 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

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.