Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 1.3% – Still a Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $177.66 and last traded at $177.04. 1,238,520 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 8,456,579 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.88. The stock has a market cap of $483.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CHB Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $246,000. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 29.8% in the third quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,428 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 20.6% in the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,482 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 42.1% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 18,571 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after buying an additional 5,501 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 12.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. 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.