Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target Raised to $175.00 at Morgan Stanley

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price objective lifted by Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ORCL. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $177.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $492.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.81, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Oracle has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $198.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.67.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 0.90%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Oracle by 21.9% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 1.5% in the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Bank increased its stake in Oracle by 0.8% in the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 0.4% in the third quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 17,626 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, W Advisors LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 3.1% in the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during 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.