Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Sets New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $198.31 and last traded at $193.59, with a volume of 2825632 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $191.69.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.48.

Oracle Trading Down 6.7 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $179.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.67. The company has a market cap of $492.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 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.