Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Raised to Strong-Buy at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

ORCL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their target price on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their target price on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.63.

Oracle Stock Down 1.8 %

ORCL stock opened at $175.28 on Tuesday. Oracle has a twelve month low of $99.26 and a twelve month high of $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The company has a market capitalization of $485.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.39, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Oracle will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 2,656 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $140,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 15,440 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 22,136 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,126,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $254,000. 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.