Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 0.3% – Should You Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $176.07 and last traded at $175.87. 1,071,464 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 8,389,212 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Melius upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.52.

Oracle Stock Down 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $481.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.81, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $157.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.38.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,633 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 3,376 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,150,000. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 8.3% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 127,639 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $21,750,000 after buying an additional 9,812 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 8,984 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.