Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 0.2% - Here's What Happened

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) was up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $177.00 and last traded at $175.74. Approximately 1,536,713 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 8,511,305 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JMP Securities raised shares of Oracle from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $175.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $167.42.

Oracle Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.43. The firm has a market cap of $487.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.30, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. Oracle's revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,146,320 shares of company stock worth $164,762,400 in the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.