Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Here’s What Happened

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price shot up 1.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $169.80 and last traded at $169.16. 1,781,054 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 8,547,601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Melius raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.42.

Oracle Trading Up 2.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $473.46 billion, a PE ratio of 46.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $147.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.20.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock worth $225,338,245. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Contour Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,950 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $231,203,000 after buying an additional 643,490 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in Oracle by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 29,301 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 3,291 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in Oracle by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,502,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 25.0% during the first quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,492 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 55.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,315 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after purchasing an additional 7,982 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.