Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares were up 0.5% during trading on Wednesday after BNP Paribas upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $179.60 and last traded at $178.70. Approximately 3,626,669 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 8,360,706 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.74.

ORCL has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Melius raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,977,015,000 after buying an additional 885,041 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,049,824,000 after acquiring an additional 310,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,489,345,000 after acquiring an additional 54,868 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $180.19 and its 200-day moving average is $155.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $485.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.39, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.24%.

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.