Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ORCL. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Oracle in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an overweight rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. HSBC increased their target price on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a market perform rating on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $130.76.

Oracle Stock Up 0.7 %

ORCL stock opened at $115.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.27. Oracle has a 12 month low of $94.41 and a 12 month high of $132.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $318.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a return on equity of 336.11% and a net margin of 20.27%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Oracle will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total transaction of $2,903,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,071,294.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 5.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 147,273,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,599,200,000 after purchasing an additional 7,883,515 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Oracle by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,718,180 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,982,630,000 after acquiring an additional 635,994 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Oracle by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,938,242,000 after acquiring an additional 3,323,334 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,539,268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,300,941,000 after acquiring an additional 697,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.