Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 4.3% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) rose 4.3% on Monday after Melius Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $169.86 and last traded at $168.92. Approximately 8,104,051 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 8,461,667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.03.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Oracle news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock worth $266,776,624 over the last three months. Company insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Werlinich Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 3.1% during the second quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 2,869 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Invst LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 2.4% during the second quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,372 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 0.6% during the second quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 12,911 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,823,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Key Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Oracle by 1.2% during the second quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 6,600 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $932,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $140.35 and its 200-day moving average is $130.57. The company has a market cap of $472.09 billion, a PE ratio of 45.92, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

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.