Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 0.6%

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) rose 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $144.65 and last traded at $144.17. Approximately 1,108,071 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 8,623,552 shares. The stock had previously closed at $143.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ORCL shares. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $133.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 10th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.83.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $126.95 and its 200-day moving average is $118.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 223.01% and a net margin of 19.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.13, for a total transaction of $2,903,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at $2,071,294.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 385,639 shares of company stock worth $53,002,729. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $18,993,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,569 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Oracle by 0.4% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,319,604,000 after buying an additional 82,551 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,539,268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,342 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 148.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after acquiring an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,300,941,000 after acquiring an additional 697,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.