Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 3.1% – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares traded down 3.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $133.80 and last traded at $134.93. 2,017,221 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 9,197,806 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ORCL. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Westpark Capital started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.65.

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $376.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.09.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In related news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total transaction of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock valued at $453,791,001. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.