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

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) was down 1.2% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $183.43 and last traded at $184.24. Approximately 4,085,595 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 12,920,499 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ORCL shares. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Down 1.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $174.41 and a 200-day moving average of $162.22. The stock has a market cap of $513.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.89, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.12%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders grew its position in shares of Oracle by 383.4% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,155 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter worth about $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 79.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $48,813,000 after purchasing an additional 126,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 863,883 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $147,206,000 after purchasing an additional 395,613 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.