Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 0.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded down 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $161.43 and last traded at $161.86. 1,746,237 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 5,468,530 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market cap of $455.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.59.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $132,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 147,204 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $20,776,000 after purchasing an additional 3,912 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. First Foundation Advisors raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 12,416 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,753,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $2,071,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.