Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 3% – Should You Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded down 3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $141.02 and last traded at $141.37. 3,293,001 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 8,521,099 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

Oracle Trading Down 3.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $392.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $164.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.11.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

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