Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) fell 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $184.33 and last traded at $185.40. 899,579 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 8,214,505 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.52.

Oracle Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $173.06 and its 200 day moving average is $147.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $524.01 billion, a PE ratio of 47.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 91.7% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 13,771 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,730,000 after buying an additional 6,587 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 20,017 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,514,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. Ossiam now owns 42,761 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,371,000 after purchasing an additional 9,377 shares during the period. Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC now owns 13,286 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 13.1% in the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,579 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.