Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 0.5% – Time to Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price was up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $161.30 and last traded at $161.31. Approximately 1,890,764 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 9,450,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Down 0.6%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $142.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.45. The firm has a market cap of $446.00 billion, a PE ratio of 38.99, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,785,531.60. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 in the last three months. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,095,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the first quarter valued at approximately $732,692,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 15,012.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $664,810,000 after acquiring an additional 4,723,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $22,498,982,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513,464 shares during 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.