Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price dropped 1.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $172.60 and last traded at $173.39. Approximately 2,280,848 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 11,902,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $472.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.34, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $169.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.74.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm 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 firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. 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 Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,095,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,303,858,000 after buying an additional 2,350,448 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 268.4% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $512,909,000 after buying an additional 2,242,520 shares in the last quarter. 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.