Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on ORCL. Mizuho boosted their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $183.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $172.14 and a 200-day moving average of $146.60. The company has a market cap of $509.07 billion, a PE ratio of 47.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.02. Oracle has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $191.77.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle 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 value of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 148.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 131.2% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,201 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $552,262,000 after purchasing an additional 2,219,450 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Oracle by 97.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,242,647 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $532,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,093,893 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Oracle by 16,023.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $351,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Oracle by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.