Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 3% – Time to Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded down 3% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $141.02 and last traded at $141.37. 3,293,001 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 8,521,099 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen research 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. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $392.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $164.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.11.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other 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 value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently 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.