Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 106,456 call options on the company. This is an increase of 44% compared to the typical volume of 74,051 call options.

Oracle Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded up $3.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $177.87. 5,511,790 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,543,689. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $149.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.86. Oracle has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $177.98. 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 company has a market cap of $492.89 billion, a PE ratio of 47.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Melius raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,146,320 shares of company stock worth $164,762,400. Company insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 1.0% in the 1st 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 shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,242,340 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,869,816,000 after buying an additional 296,866 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 148.8% in 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. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 12,339,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,300,941,000 after buying an additional 697,961 shares in the last quarter. 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.