Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Lifted to Outperform at JMP Securities

JMP Securities upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $175.00 target price on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Oracle from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $159.68.

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL opened at $162.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $446.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.67, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $139.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.90. Oracle has a 1-year low of $99.26 and a 1-year high of $173.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Oracle will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,010,030.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock worth $266,776,624. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 5.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,927 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,141,000. Lazari Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 10.3% in the second quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,867 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $36,127,000. Finally, Creekside Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $425,000. 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.