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

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) was down 1.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $172.60 and last traded at $173.39. Approximately 2,280,848 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 11,902,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $469.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.05. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $168.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.29.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 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.