Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 0.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $174.92 and last traded at $174.42. 1,055,683 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 12,243,802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Down 0.2 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $169.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $485.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.42, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% during the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.