Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Upgraded to “Buy” at Melius

Melius upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Melius currently has $210.00 price target on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $163.88.

Oracle Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $167.56 on Monday. Oracle has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $173.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $461.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.44.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $60,575,844.51. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,610,402 shares of company stock valued at $230,556,257 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Oracle by 148.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after buying an additional 7,699,141 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Oracle by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,938,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,323,334 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 131.2% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,201 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $552,262,000 after purchasing an additional 2,219,450 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,539,268,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Oracle by 97.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,242,647 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $532,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,093,893 shares during the last quarter. 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.