Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) to Issue $0.40 Quarterly Dividend

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, December 9th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a dividend of 0.40 per share by the enterprise software provider on Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th.

Oracle has increased its dividend payment by an average of 16.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Oracle has a payout ratio of 22.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Oracle to earn $5.75 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.8%.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORCL traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $178.58. 13,176,670 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,403,240. The firm has a market cap of $494.86 billion, a PE ratio of 46.06, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.06. Oracle has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Melius upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.48.

Insider Activity

In other 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 owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.