Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 3.6% - Time to Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) traded up 3.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $162.28 and last traded at $161.51. 2,208,124 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 9,481,815 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Oracle Price 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $144.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $461.58 billion, a PE ratio of 40.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle 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 sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 in the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,800,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in Oracle by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 564,030 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $93,990,000 after purchasing an additional 163,543 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in Oracle by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 43,851 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $7,307,000 after purchasing an additional 4,259 shares during the period. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,738,000. Hedge funds and other 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.