Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price dropped 1.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $181.00 and last traded at $181.28. Approximately 2,298,762 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 8,219,880 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.52.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $504.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the second quarter worth $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.