Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0.9% – Should You Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) was up 0.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $131.30 and last traded at $130.95. Approximately 1,679,173 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 9,266,021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $150.85 and a 200-day moving average of $166.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock valued at $454,439,851. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $930,095,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 15,012.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $664,810,000 after buying an additional 4,723,631 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings 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. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 1.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently 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.