Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 2.7% – Should You Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price fell 2.7% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $176.56 and last traded at $176.55. 2,497,334 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 12,003,913 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $469.66 billion, a PE ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $168.99 and its 200 day moving average is $167.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, 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 through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $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.