Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target Increased to $172.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its target price increased by Barclays from $160.00 to $172.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim restated a buy rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $158.68.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $161.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $444.69 billion, a PE ratio of 43.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.55. Oracle has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $162.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Oracle will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,010,030.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock worth $266,776,624 over the last three months. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Contour Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,950 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $231,203,000 after acquiring an additional 643,490 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in shares of Oracle by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 29,301 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 3,291 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Oracle by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 16,995 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 5,236 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 25.0% during the first quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,492 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $941,000 after buying an additional 1,500 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.