Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 2.9% – Time to Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares dropped 2.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $170.71 and last traded at $171.98. Approximately 2,335,000 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 12,663,042 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $481.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.24.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued 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 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 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.