Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $179.71.

A number of research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their target price on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of ORCL opened at $147.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle has a 52-week low of $112.78 and a 52-week high of $198.31. The company has a market cap of $412.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.14 and a 200 day moving average of $169.34.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

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.