Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 2.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 2.3% on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $190.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Oracle traded as low as $136.76 and last traded at $137.64. Approximately 2,517,541 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 8,938,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.87.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on ORCL. Mizuho upped their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Remove Ads

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Oracle Trading Down 5.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market cap of $387.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.85.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

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.