Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 0.1% Higher – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $190.90 and last traded at $189.09. 955,425 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 8,213,696 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.52.

Oracle Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The stock has a market cap of $534.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 21.9% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Bank increased its position in Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the third quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 17,626 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, W Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.1% during the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 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.