Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ORCL. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a market perform rating on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Argus raised shares of Oracle from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. William Blair raised shares of Oracle from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $130.76.

Oracle Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE ORCL opened at $117.21 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $119.42 and a 200-day moving average of $113.11. Oracle has a 52-week low of $93.29 and a 52-week high of $132.77.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 3.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,717 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 70.1% during the third quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,650 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $810,000 after acquiring an additional 3,152 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 2.7% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,051 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Sander Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 74.5% during the third quarter. Sander Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 48,869 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,176,000 after acquiring an additional 20,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its position in Oracle by 5.1% during the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 4,077 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.