Investors Purchase High Volume of Oracle Call Options (NYSE:ORCL)

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 161,141 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 107% compared to the average volume of 77,990 call options.

Oracle Trading Up 7.4 %

Shares of ORCL stock traded up $11.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $172.89. 19,126,872 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,456,510. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. Oracle has a 12-month low of $106.51 and a 12-month high of $198.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $483.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $174.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.70.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 2,043 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its position in Oracle by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 191,951 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,996,000 after acquiring an additional 8,634 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 12,204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 1,573 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 14,379 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,396,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.