Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of several research reports. Redburn Partners set a $175.00 target price on Oracle in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Oracle from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $350.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $246.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Three research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.92.

Oracle Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $537.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.44, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $243.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $242.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.62. Oracle had a net margin of 25.28% and a return on equity of 70.60%. The firm had revenue of $16.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Oracle Corporation 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 Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 49,365 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.02, for a total transaction of $13,971,282.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 151,999 shares in the company, valued at $43,018,756.98. The trade was a 24.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $11,065,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 155,190 shares of company stock worth $45,279,001 in the last ninety days. 40.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 5,093,200 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,113,526,000 after purchasing an additional 360,000 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 9.2% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 3,817 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.8% in the second quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,937 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $7,201,000 after buying an additional 1,515 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Lockerman Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $328,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.