Guggenheim Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price objective upped by Guggenheim from $220.00 to $250.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ORCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Oracle from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Mizuho cut their price target on Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JMP Securities set a $240.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 target price for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.74.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of ORCL opened at $205.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $573.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.25, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.32. Oracle has a fifty-two week low of $118.86 and a fifty-two week high of $216.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $160.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.52.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 87.34% and a net margin of 21.68%. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. The trade was a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 442,366 shares of company stock worth $83,395,223. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 91.5% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 3,373,131 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $471,491,000 after buying an additional 1,612,113 shares in the last quarter. Optima Capital LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 17.8% during the first quarter. Optima Capital LLC now owns 5,072 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the period. 1248 Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 501.9% in the first quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 30,198 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $4,222,000 after acquiring an additional 25,181 shares in the last quarter. Cim LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 4.8% in the first quarter. Cim LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 720 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. 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.