Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 0% – What’s Next?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded up 0% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $168.92 and last traded at $168.85. 2,544,494 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 8,385,711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Melius upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.48.

Oracle Trading Up 0.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $474.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $179.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 39.12%.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 15.3% during the second quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in Oracle in the third quarter valued at $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 79.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $48,813,000 after buying an additional 126,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 863,883 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $147,206,000 after buying an additional 395,613 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.