Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price was down 0.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $153.05 and last traded at $154.12. Approximately 1,799,172 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 8,509,694 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ORCL. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho increased their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $428.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $164.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.36. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Fire Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $800,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 200.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 172,483 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $28,743,000 after buying an additional 115,059 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,526,000. Finally, Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.