Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 0.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded down 0.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $128.44 and last traded at $128.56. 8,919,409 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 9,309,665 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital began coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.73.

Oracle Stock Down 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $359.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $151.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,453,328 shares of company stock worth $454,439,851. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Requisite Capital Management LLC increased its position 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. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Oracle by 1.1% during 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 period. Warther Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Bailey Securities LLC grew its position in Oracle by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.