Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 0.6% – Time to Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) traded down 0.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $177.41 and last traded at $177.86. 1,603,417 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 12,868,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $214.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Down 0.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $496.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.05. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $170.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.97.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders raised its holdings in Oracle by 383.4% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 5,675 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 164,593 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $27,428,000 after buying an additional 32,718 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,800,000. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth about $4,160,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.