Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target Raised to $340.00

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price objective hoisted by Evercore ISI from $270.00 to $340.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ORCL. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, June 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $220.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $240.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.84.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock opened at $292.07 on Wednesday. Oracle has a 52-week low of $118.86 and a 52-week high of $345.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $829.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.61, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.08% and a return on equity of 72.93%. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.08%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total transaction of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,337,214.04. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Clayton M. Magouyrk sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.10, for a total transaction of $3,211,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 60,722 shares in the company, valued at $13,000,580.20. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,183 shares of company stock valued at $10,353,198 over the last quarter. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Snider Financial Group lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.3% during the second quarter. Snider Financial Group now owns 3,204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.9% during the second quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.9% during the second quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,211 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 7.2% during the second quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 643 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.7% during the second quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 798 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in 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.