Guggenheim Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)

Guggenheim reiterated their buy rating on shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $175.00 target price on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a market perform rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Oracle from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. HSBC raised their price target on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $145.83.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL opened at $140.21 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. Oracle has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $145.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $124.23 and a 200-day moving average of $117.62. The stock has a market cap of $386.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The firm had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total transaction of $34,042,967.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Oracle news, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total transaction of $2,320,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,836 shares in the company, valued at $2,068,976. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 385,639 shares of company stock valued at $53,002,729 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.