Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Up 1.6% – Should You Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shot up 1.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $185.93 and last traded at $185.55. 1,754,204 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 8,233,119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a market cap of $512.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.82, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $177.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the second quarter worth about $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter worth $44,000. 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.