Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 1.6% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) traded down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $172.11 and last traded at $172.44. 2,341,324 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 8,373,735 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Oracle to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $183.63.

Oracle Stock Down 1.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $481.97 billion, a PE ratio of 42.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.03. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $180.36 and a 200-day moving average of $155.36.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 16,023.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,065,083 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $351,890,000 after buying an additional 2,052,275 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $3,370,640,000 after buying an additional 1,917,416 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its position in shares of Oracle by 5,853.1% in the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,552,580 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $219,224,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,500 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $5,977,015,000 after purchasing an additional 885,041 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

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.

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