Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 1.2% - Here's Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $162.16 and last traded at $163.74. Approximately 1,968,151 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 4,878,781 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Oracle from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market cap of $452.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.60, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.45.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released 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). The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $12,003,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,977,015,000 after purchasing an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,049,824,000 after buying an additional 310,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,489,345,000 after buying an additional 54,868 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.