Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 4.9% - Here's Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) was down 4.9% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $154.56 and last traded at $154.75. Approximately 4,047,938 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 6,061,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Oracle from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.48.

Oracle Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $431.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.73.

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 firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Oracle's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth $44,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Oracle during the third quarter worth about $51,000. 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.