Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 3.6% – Should You Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price was up 3.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $162.28 and last traded at $161.51. Approximately 2,208,124 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 9,481,815 shares. The stock had previously closed at $155.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Oracle Trading Up 3.8%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $143.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm has a market cap of $453.03 billion, a PE ratio of 39.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,785,531.60. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. 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.