Oracle Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ORCL)

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 127,864 call options on the company. This is an increase of 98% compared to the typical daily volume of 64,598 call options.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,010,030.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 235,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.30, for a total value of $34,042,967.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at $379,042,045.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,862,500 shares of company stock valued at $266,776,624. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 5.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,927 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,141,000. Lazari Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,867 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,127,000. Finally, Creekside Partners acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $425,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.88.

Oracle Price Performance

Oracle stock traded up $8.18 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $170.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 19,911,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,528,000. Oracle has a 12 month low of $99.26 and a 12 month high of $173.99. 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 capitalization of $469.07 billion, a PE ratio of 46.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $139.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.16.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

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.