Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) saw strong trading volume on Monday after Melius upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Melius now has a $210.00 price target on the stock. 4,783,293 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the previous session’s volume of 8,443,011 shares.The stock last traded at $168.45 and had previously closed at $162.03.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on ORCL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Argus lifted their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.08.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total value of $3,220,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 210,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,157,101.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total value of $3,220,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 210,712 shares in the company, valued at $30,157,101.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total transaction of $161,651,250.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,145,732,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock worth $266,776,624. 42.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $1,210,181,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 148.8% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 7,699,141 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Oracle by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,384,162 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,938,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,323,334 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 131.2% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,201 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $552,262,000 after buying an additional 2,219,450 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Oracle by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 14,599,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,539,268,000 after buying an additional 2,191,342 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $139.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.16. 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 company has a market cap of $466.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.67, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

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.