Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 2.7% Higher – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price shot up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $179.99 and last traded at $179.14. 2,418,987 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 13,098,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.24. The stock has a market cap of $481.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.