Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also commented on ORCL. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.52.

Oracle Stock Down 0.5 %

Oracle stock opened at $173.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $160.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.20. Oracle has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $178.61. The company has a market capitalization of $478.20 billion, a PE ratio of 46.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Oracle will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle 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 value of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in Oracle by 16.8% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 6,141 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC increased its position in Oracle by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 9,181 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,382 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,791,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,731 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,358,000 after buying an additional 8,787 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.7% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 221,266 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $37,704,000 after buying an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. 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.