JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target to $135.00

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ORCL. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.71.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE:ORCL opened at $147.41 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.34. Oracle has a 1-year low of $112.78 and a 1-year high of $198.31. The stock has a market cap of $412.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 201.7% in the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 383.4% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $27,428,000 after purchasing an additional 32,718 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.