Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 1.3% – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL – Get Free Report)’s stock price dropped 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $175.70 and last traded at $177.40. Approximately 2,053,353 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 12,088,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on ORCL

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.74. The company has a market capitalization of $469.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.05. 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 – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Oracle’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at $222,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 43.5% during the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 2,582 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.1% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 117,127 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $19,958,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wallington Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at $222,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Oracle

(Get Free Report)

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.

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