TD Cowen Cuts Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Price Target to $350.00

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its target price cut by TD Cowen from $400.00 to $350.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Melius Research lifted their price target on Oracle from $270.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.57.

Oracle Stock Down 4.6%

ORCL stock opened at $189.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $540.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.65, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28. Oracle has a twelve month low of $118.86 and a twelve month high of $345.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $245.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.39.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $16.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.19 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 25.28% and a return on equity of 70.60%. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 37.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.62, for a total transaction of $1,403,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,212,431.46. This represents a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,222 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.91, for a total value of $641,958.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 29,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,443,394.75. The trade was a 7.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 171,513 shares of company stock worth $50,397,893. Corporate insiders own 40.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 168,960,500 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $47,518,451,000 after purchasing an additional 4,681,626 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Oracle by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,459,391 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $16,060,427,000 after buying an additional 1,252,723 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Oracle by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 23,310,827 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,555,961,000 after buying an additional 266,588 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,741,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,760,048,000 after buying an additional 120,889 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,275,378,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.