Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Up 3.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) shot up 3.1% during mid-day trading on Friday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $220.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Oracle traded as high as $192.22 and last traded at $192.06. 3,113,711 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 8,221,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.24.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, October 18th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle 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 owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its stake in Oracle by 1.8% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 26,426 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,731,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 40.6% during the second quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,641 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 105.6% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,357 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 6.0% during the second quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Up 2.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $531.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $178.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.32.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Oracle's payout ratio is 41.24%.

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.