Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) dropped 0.2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $172.81 and last traded at $173.50. Approximately 7,255,300 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 14,755,394 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Up 1.0 %

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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.57. The stock has a market cap of $507.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.05.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Oracle by 129.0% during the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. 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.