Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 0.7% After Insider Selling

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) fell 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $125.08 and last traded at $125.57. 1,646,809 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 9,143,628 shares. The stock had previously closed at $126.47.

Specifically, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. William Blair upgraded Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Oracle from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.76.

Oracle Trading Up 0.2 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $116.38 and a 200-day moving average of $111.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $345.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.00.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 336.11% and a net margin of 20.27%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.1% during the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 73,791 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,467 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 588,460 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $48,686,000 after purchasing an additional 132,920 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in Oracle by 79.6% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,854 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 3,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Oracle by 125.2% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,995 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.