Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 2% - Time to Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) shares traded down 2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $167.56 and last traded at $168.19. 1,265,660 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 8,354,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ORCL. StockNews.com downgraded Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Oracle from $157.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $173.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.48.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm's 50 day moving average is $179.37 and its 200 day moving average is $159.04. The firm has a market cap of $472.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in Oracle by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 24,800 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,502,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,160,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 79.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 286,460 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $48,813,000 after buying an additional 126,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 84.5% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 863,883 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $147,206,000 after acquiring an additional 395,613 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.