Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $178.90 and last traded at $178.83, with a volume of 408187 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $171.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Oracle in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.52.

Oracle Trading Up 5.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.02. The firm has a market cap of $502.23 billion, a PE ratio of 46.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Oracle by 148.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,616,855,000 after purchasing an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 131.2% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,201 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $552,262,000 after acquiring an additional 2,219,450 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 97.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,242,647 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $532,920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,093,893 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 16,023.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $351,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052,275 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5,853.1% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,552,580 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $219,224,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,500 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.