Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 1.1% Higher

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) was up 1.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $168.35 and last traded at $168.12. Approximately 1,789,294 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 8,578,374 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Melius Research raised Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JMP Securities raised Oracle from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $175.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.13.

Oracle Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $465.83 billion, a PE ratio of 45.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.01. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $60,575,844.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $60,575,844.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock valued at $225,338,245. 42.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Brio Consultants LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Brio Consultants LLC now owns 2,942 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $359,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,000. Finally, 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 90,285 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $9,519,000 after buying an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.