Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Receives $182.73 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $182.73.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ORCL shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $158.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $442.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $174.41 and a 200 day moving average of $162.79. Oracle has a twelve month low of $106.51 and a twelve month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. 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.