Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 0.2% – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price traded down 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $184.33 and last traded at $185.40. 899,579 shares were traded 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.52.

Oracle Trading Up 1.0 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $174.39 and its 200 day moving average is $148.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $528.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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 dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth $35,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter valued at $40,000. 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.