Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Earns “Neutral” Rating from DA Davidson

DA Davidson reissued their neutral rating on shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $150.00 target price on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve research 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 price target of $178.92.

Oracle Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE ORCL opened at $144.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $403.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $166.82 and its 200-day moving average is $169.62. Oracle has a one year low of $112.78 and a one year high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,325,268 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $395,295,000 after buying an additional 53,128 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 10,767 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,835,000 after buying an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.