Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 0.9% - Here's What Happened

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) dropped 0.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $171.64 and last traded at $172.60. Approximately 1,036,793 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 8,465,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Melius Research raised shares of Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Argus raised their target price on Oracle from $145.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $167.42.

Oracle Stock Up 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $481.67 billion, a PE ratio of 46.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $153.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.62.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business's revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total transaction of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at $8,010,030.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 13,586 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 4.8% during the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,359 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Oracle by 76.4% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 12,838 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,613,000 after buying an additional 5,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers Trust Co. raised its stake in Oracle by 2.8% in the first quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 19,479 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $2,447,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

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.