Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 0.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) fell 0.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $168.61 and last traded at $171.61. 1,818,445 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 11,575,983 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $460.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.