Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 0.1% – What’s Next?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $191.36 and last traded at $192.15. Approximately 1,414,419 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 8,209,713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Barclays upped their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.52.

Oracle Trading Down 4.0 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $506.44 billion, a PE ratio of 47.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 131.2% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,201 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $552,262,000 after purchasing an additional 2,219,450 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Oracle by 16,023.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $351,890,000 after buying an additional 2,052,275 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its stake in Oracle by 5,853.1% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,552,580 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $219,224,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,500 shares during the period. 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.