Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Trading Down 1.5 %

ORCL opened at $183.59 on Friday. Oracle has a 12 month low of $106.51 and a 12 month high of $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $174.41 and a 200 day moving average of $162.22. The firm has a market cap of $513.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Oracle will post 5.01 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management purchased a new position in Oracle during the third quarter worth about $51,000. 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.