Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 0.5% – Should You Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares dropped 0.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $153.05 and last traded at $154.12. Approximately 1,799,172 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 8,509,694 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ORCL. UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Oracle Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $428.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.46, a PEG 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.36.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost 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, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Bank lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.8% during the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Oracle by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Oracle by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.