Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 1.5% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) dropped 1.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $150.44 and last traded at $151.61. Approximately 2,526,668 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 8,486,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ORCL. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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 note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stephens started coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $167.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Down 1.1 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $403.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. 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 is presently 46.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following 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. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Second Line Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank increased its stake in Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its stake 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. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 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.