Citigroup Increases Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target to $157.00

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its target price lifted by Citigroup from $140.00 to $157.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

ORCL has been the topic of a number of other reports. KeyCorp raised 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. Bank of America raised their price target on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $161.13.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $162.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.53 billion, a PE ratio of 43.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Oracle has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $173.93. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $139.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Oracle will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total value of $3,220,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 210,712 shares in the company, valued at $30,157,101.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock valued at $266,776,624. 42.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.