Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 3.1% - Time to Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) shares dropped 3.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $133.80 and last traded at $134.93. Approximately 2,017,221 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 9,197,806 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Westpark Capital began coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.27.

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Oracle Trading Up 1.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $375.72 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company's 50-day moving average price is $155.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.63.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,448,328 shares of company stock worth $453,791,001 over the last three months. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 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.