Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Given New $175.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price target decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $205.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ORCL. KeyCorp raised their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup raised Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.92.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $144.29 on Tuesday. Oracle has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $166.82 and its 200 day moving average is $169.62. The company has a market cap of $403.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 12.4% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.3% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,325,268 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $395,295,000 after acquiring an additional 53,128 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in Oracle by 4.8% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 7.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 10,767 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,835,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.