Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 1.3%

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price traded up 1.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $140.37 and last traded at $140.31. 1,105,468 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 8,512,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $138.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.83.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $133.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.16. The company has a market capitalization of $386.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.82, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total value of $2,903,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,294.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,952,500 shares of company stock valued at $277,298,174. Company insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $18,993,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,569 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,319,604,000 after acquiring an additional 82,551 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,539,268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,342 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 148.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after acquiring an additional 7,699,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,300,941,000 after acquiring an additional 697,961 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.