Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

by · The Cerbat Gem

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL – Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $178.27.

Several research analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on ORCL

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $134.33 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle has a 12-month low of $112.78 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.72 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $154.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.39.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL – Get Free Report) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001 in the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

About Oracle

(Get Free Report

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.

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