Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0.3%

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price rose 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $125.80 and last traded at $125.65. Approximately 1,106,144 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 9,121,214 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Argus upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.76.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $345.10 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.00.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 336.11% and a net margin of 20.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. Analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Fairfield Bush & CO. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 73,791 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221 shares during the period. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,467 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 29.2% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 588,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $48,686,000 after acquiring an additional 132,920 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in Oracle by 79.6% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,854 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 3,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Oracle by 125.2% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,995 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Company Profile

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.