Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 106,456 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 44% compared to the average volume of 74,051 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle 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 value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,010,030.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’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 value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,146,320 shares of company stock valued at $164,762,400 in the last 90 days. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new stake in Oracle during the first quarter worth $36,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $175.51 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $150.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.15. The firm has a market cap of $483.68 billion, a PE ratio of 47.23, a PEG ratio of 3.09 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 has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $178.61.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.42.

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.