Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0.8% – What’s Next?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded up 0.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $136.48 and last traded at $135.78. 1,082,880 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 9,245,455 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.12.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.39.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Requisite Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $908,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Warther Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC grew its position in Oracle by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.