Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 0.4% – Should You Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price dropped 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $187.22 and last traded at $187.35. Approximately 1,473,802 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 8,224,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Oracle from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.52.

Oracle Trading Up 2.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The firm has a market cap of $531.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average is $178.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.32.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The business 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%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Oracle

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. 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.