Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 0.5% – What’s Next?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) were down 0.5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $150.11 and last traded at $152.01. Approximately 2,211,692 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 8,491,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Up 0.3 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $164.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.77. The company has a market capitalization of $428.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Oracle by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after buying an additional 121,874 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 383.4% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Oracle by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after purchasing an additional 32,718 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $1,800,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.