Evercore ISI Lowers Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target to $185.00

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price objective cut by Evercore ISI from $200.00 to $185.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on ORCL. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.71.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $147.41 on Tuesday. Oracle has a 52 week low of $112.78 and a 52 week high of $198.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS 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%. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,095,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Oracle by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,303,858,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,448 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Oracle by 268.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $512,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.