Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $159.55 and last traded at $158.10. Approximately 1,671,618 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 11,457,846 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $168.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $452.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Oracle by 21.9% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Requisite Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.