Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0.9% – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares rose 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $175.65 and last traded at $173.14. Approximately 2,138,342 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 13,470,397 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.05. The company has a market cap of $484.12 billion, a PE ratio of 42.33, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SWS Partners increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. SWS Partners now owns 17,725 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,954,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 132,832 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $22,135,000 after buying an additional 2,435 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Patten Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 8,927 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 1,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 509.2% during the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 187,462 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,239,000 after buying an additional 156,691 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.