Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price traded up 0.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $159.55 and last traded at $158.10. 1,671,618 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 11,457,846 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ORCL. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $452.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $168.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.15.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 42.44% of the stock is 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.