Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 3% – Time to Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares dropped 3% on Friday . The company traded as low as $141.02 and last traded at $141.37. Approximately 3,293,001 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 8,521,099 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $163.94 and its 200-day moving average is $170.22. The company has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total value of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.