Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) fell 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $153.05 and last traded at $154.12. 1,799,172 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 8,509,694 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ORCL. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Down 1.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $407.33 billion, a PE ratio of 35.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Oracle by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,416,362 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $411,748,000 after purchasing an additional 121,874 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in Oracle by 4.8% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,430 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Cadence Bank increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 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.