Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 1.5% – Time to Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price traded down 1.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $150.44 and last traded at $151.61. 2,526,668 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 8,486,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of several research reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Oracle Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $417.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.57, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $164.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.44.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 1.34%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % 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. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Fire Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $800,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 200.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 172,483 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $28,743,000 after acquiring an additional 115,059 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $77,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $2,526,000. Finally, Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. 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.