Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) had its price objective cut by Barclays from $212.00 to $202.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the enterprise software provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.71.

Oracle Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE:ORCL opened at $147.41 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $166.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.34. The stock has a market cap of $412.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. 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 has a 12 month low of $112.78 and a 12 month high of $198.31.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued 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). 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 201.7% during the 4th quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders increased its holdings in Oracle by 383.4% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,675 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Oracle by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $27,428,000 after acquiring an additional 32,718 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,800,000. 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.