Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 3.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) were up 3.3% during trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $185.00 to $210.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Oracle traded as high as $242.42 and last traded at $240.45. Approximately 7,173,286 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 11,841,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.80.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Scotiabank started coverage on Oracle in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on Oracle from $220.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total value of $3,211,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 60,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,000,580.20. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total value of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198 over the last 90 days. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 21,467 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $4,693,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. American Trust bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $319,000. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $203,000. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 47,525 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $10,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The firm has a market cap of $675.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.40, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $239.38 and a 200 day moving average of $186.73.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%.Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.08%.

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.