Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0.9% - Here's What Happened

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 0.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $131.30 and last traded at $130.95. 1,679,173 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 9,266,021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.73.

Oracle Stock Down 0.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $359.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.33.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle's payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,453,328 shares of company stock worth $454,439,851 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.