Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Upgraded at Melius

Melius upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $210.00 target price on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on ORCL. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $163.88.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $164.49 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $141.34 and a 200-day moving average of $131.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $453.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle has a 1 year low of $99.26 and a 1 year high of $173.99.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,610,402 shares of company stock worth $230,556,257. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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.