Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price shot up 1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $153.74 and last traded at $153.90. 1,513,022 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 8,495,176 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ORCL. UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays decreased their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Oracle Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $427.45 billion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $164.87 and a 200 day moving average of $169.85.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $930,095,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,303,858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,448 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 268.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $512,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,520 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently 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.