Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 0.8%

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 0.8% on Friday . The company traded as low as $166.51 and last traded at $166.68. 1,434,705 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 8,568,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.13.

Oracle Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $144.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.31. The firm has a market cap of $467.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $60,575,844.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at $372,764,079.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at $164,630,281,802.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $60,575,844.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at $372,764,079.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock worth $225,338,245. 42.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Contour Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,950 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $231,203,000 after acquiring an additional 643,490 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 29,301 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 3,291 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in Oracle by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,502,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,492 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 55.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,315 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,151,000 after buying an additional 7,982 shares in the last quarter. 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.