Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 1.5% – Time to Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) was down 1.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $150.44 and last traded at $151.61. Approximately 2,526,668 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 8,486,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ORCL. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a market cap of $417.61 billion, a PE ratio of 36.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.44.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 383.4% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,675 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 24.8% during 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 period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $1,800,000. 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.