Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 2% – What’s Next?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares fell 2% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $167.56 and last traded at $168.19. 1,265,660 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 8,354,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.48.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $179.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $470.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth $27,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth about $51,000. 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.