Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 0.9% – Here’s Why

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price fell 0.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $171.64 and last traded at $172.60. 1,036,793 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 8,465,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.67.

Oracle Trading Down 0.5 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $155.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $481.94 billion, a PE ratio of 47.20, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

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

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 42.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 612,345 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $104,344,000 after acquiring an additional 6,269 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. NovaPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 26,812 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,569,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 170,461 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $29,047,000 after purchasing an additional 8,278 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Oracle by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 27,189 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $4,633,000 after purchasing an additional 5,053 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is 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.