Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 3.6% - Time to Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $136.38 and last traded at $136.16. Approximately 1,462,215 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 11,795,639 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $387.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $146.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.