Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 2.7% – Should You Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares were down 2.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $176.56 and last traded at $176.55. Approximately 2,497,334 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 12,003,913 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $469.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $168.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,332,803,000 after acquiring an additional 156,269 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,954,961,000 after acquiring an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares in the last quarter. 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.