Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 9.7% Following Insider Selling

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 9.7% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $166.13 and last traded at $165.72. 11,780,896 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 13,269,305 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.60.

Specifically, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Oracle in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $214.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $442.19 billion, a PE ratio of 38.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $174.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.79.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management bought a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.