Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded up 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $137.20 and last traded at $136.01. 777,515 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 8,286,128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $135.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.83.

Oracle Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $137.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.47. The stock has a market cap of $377.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862,500 shares of company stock valued at $266,776,624 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $1,210,181,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 148.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after purchasing an additional 7,699,141 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Oracle by 382.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,563,366 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $481,820,000 after buying an additional 3,617,413 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Oracle by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,938,242,000 after buying an additional 3,323,334 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 131.2% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,201 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $552,262,000 after buying an additional 2,219,450 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.