Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 3.1% – What’s Next?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) rose 3.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $189.41 and last traded at $188.51. Approximately 2,506,334 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 8,226,316 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Melius upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.52.

Oracle Trading Up 2.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $521.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

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 firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Oracle by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Bank raised its stake in Oracle by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 17,626 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, W Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is 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.