Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 2.3% – What’s Next?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) fell 2.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $186.00 and last traded at $186.07. 1,576,192 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 8,231,034 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ORCL. Citigroup raised their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.52.

Oracle Trading Down 4.0 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $177.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $506.27 billion, a PE ratio of 47.09, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

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