Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 4.9% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded down 4.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $154.56 and last traded at $154.75. 4,047,938 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 6,061,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Melius Research upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Down 4.4 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $177.93 and its 200-day moving average is $160.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market cap of $435.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the third quarter worth $44,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.