Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 20,974,172 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 121% from the previous session’s volume of 9,497,800 shares.The stock last traded at $172.58 and had previously closed at $161.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Up 7.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $483.37 billion, a PE ratio of 42.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 147,705 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $20,856,000 after buying an additional 39,107 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Oracle by 6.9% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 95,803 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $13,527,000 after purchasing an additional 6,215 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 355,652 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $50,218,000 after purchasing an additional 10,650 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 41,745 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares during the period. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth about $103,000. 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.