Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 4% – Here’s What Happened

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) was down 4% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $182.22 and last traded at $182.70. Approximately 8,368,797 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 8,262,293 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $176.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.89. The stock has a market cap of $506.27 billion, a PE ratio of 47.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter worth about $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. 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.