Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target Raised to $190.00

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price target raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

ORCL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $163.88.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $167.56 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $461.77 billion, a PE ratio of 45.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Oracle has a one year low of $99.26 and a one year high of $173.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $141.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.44.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,610,402 shares of company stock valued at $230,556,257 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Werlinich Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 2,869 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Invst LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,372 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 12,911 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in Oracle by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 6,600 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 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.