Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading 1% Higher - Should You Buy?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) rose 1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $175.49 and last traded at $175.17. Approximately 1,166,889 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 8,287,284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $168.52.

Oracle Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $486.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.15, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.16. 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 (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $18,993,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,569 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Oracle by 0.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,319,604,000 after purchasing an additional 82,551 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Oracle by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,242,340 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,869,816,000 after buying an additional 296,866 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Oracle by 148.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,616,855,000 after acquiring an additional 7,699,141 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Oracle by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,318,962 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,033,430,000 after purchasing an additional 424,500 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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