Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 0.5% – Time to Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares dropped 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $168.61 and last traded at $171.61. Approximately 1,818,445 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 11,575,983 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ORCL has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $168.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.36. The company has a market capitalization of $464.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Wealth Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth about $222,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its holdings in Oracle by 16.8% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 6,141 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Oracle by 1.3% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 107,441 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $18,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter worth $44,000. 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.