Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.20.

Oracle Trading Down 1.1 %

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

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.