Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 1.4% – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares traded down 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $174.81 and last traded at $176.10. 2,709,147 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 8,378,263 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $486.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.22.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth $51,000. 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.