Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0.4% – What’s Next?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price shot up 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $173.84 and last traded at $172.99. 1,623,118 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 12,465,440 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $169.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $485.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 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 analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Oracle in the third quarter valued at $222,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 157.0% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,587 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,802 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its position in Oracle by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 774,912 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $132,045,000 after purchasing an additional 30,341 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 64.3% in the third quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,394 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.4% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,487 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after buying an additional 3,535 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.