Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 1% – Should You Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price rose 1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $175.49 and last traded at $175.17. Approximately 1,166,889 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 8,287,284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.52.

Oracle Trading Up 1.4 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.58. 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 $471.63 billion, a PE ratio of 44.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.01.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth $40,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.