Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Up 0.1% – Time to Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price was up 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $190.90 and last traded at $189.09. Approximately 955,425 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 8,213,696 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ORCL. Melius raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.08. The firm has a market cap of $524.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Second Line Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% during the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 108,124 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $18,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,333 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,307 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $4,312,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,049 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $4,780,000 after buying an additional 8,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its position in Oracle by 8.3% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 2,957 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.