Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Rating Increased to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $235.00 target price on the enterprise software provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $200.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Oracle from $180.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Oracle from $205.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.32.

Oracle Stock Up 7.8%

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $215.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $152.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.62. Oracle has a 52-week low of $118.86 and a 52-week high of $216.60. The company has a market cap of $602.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.70, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Jeffrey Henley sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.42, for a total value of $76,168,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,097,576 shares in the company, valued at $209,000,421.92. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 427,366 shares of company stock valued at $80,183,723. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 15,727 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,621,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 189.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 153,580 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $25,593,000 after buying an additional 100,494 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,084,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its position in Oracle by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 2,876 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.