Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price traded down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $183.43 and last traded at $184.24. 4,085,595 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 12,920,499 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ORCL shares. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $174.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.22. The company has a market cap of $515.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. 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 released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 39.12%.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Oracle by 16,023.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $351,890,000 after buying an additional 2,052,275 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 11.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Oracle by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,977,015,000 after purchasing an additional 885,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Oracle by 2,899.0% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 913,700 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $155,694,000 after purchasing an additional 883,233 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.