Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 2.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price dropped 2.3% during trading on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $190.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Oracle traded as low as $136.76 and last traded at $137.64. Approximately 2,517,541 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 8,938,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.87.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ORCL. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stephens assumed coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.31. The company has a market capitalization of $385.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70, 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 quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

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.