Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Receives Neutral Rating from Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $130.00 price objective on the enterprise software provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $190.00.

ORCL has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

Oracle stock opened at $138.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $387.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $146.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.02. Oracle has a 52-week low of $113.65 and a 52-week high of $198.31. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. The trade was a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying 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 buying an additional 5,675 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after acquiring an additional 32,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $1,800,000. 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.