Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 1.9% Higher – Still a Buy?

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) shares shot up 1.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $189.80 and last traded at $188.5220. 32,126,246 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 89% from the average session volume of 17,026,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ORCL. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Oracle from $400.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group set a $325.00 price target on Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Oracle from $380.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $350.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.92.

Oracle Trading Up 0.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $516.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.38.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $16.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.19 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 70.60% and a net margin of 25.28%.Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.62, for a total value of $1,403,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,212,431.46. This represents a 9.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $11,065,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 154,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,610,859.20. This represents a 20.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 155,190 shares of company stock worth $45,279,001 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 40.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,960,500 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $47,518,451,000 after buying an additional 4,681,626 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Oracle by 1.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,459,391 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $16,060,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252,723 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Oracle by 1.2% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 23,310,827 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,555,961,000 after acquiring an additional 266,588 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,275,378,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 13,884,524 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,941,195,000 after purchasing an additional 59,164 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is 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.