Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,960,000 shares, a decline of 22.9% from the March 15th total of 16,810,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,880,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Oracle Stock Performance

NYSE ORCL traded down $2.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $121.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,196,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,740,461. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $119.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $332.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.01. Oracle has a 12 month low of $93.29 and a 12 month high of $132.77.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 336.11%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Oracle's payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 42.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its holdings in Oracle by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 73,791 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $6,105,000 after buying an additional 2,221 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,467 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Oracle by 29.2% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 588,460 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $48,686,000 after purchasing an additional 132,920 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 79.6% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,854 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 3,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 125.2% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,995 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ORCL. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Argus upgraded Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Oracle in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.76.

About Oracle

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.