Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 4.7% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) traded down 4.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $122.93 and last traded at $122.61. 2,571,770 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 11,841,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Up 0.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $387.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.02. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Oracle's payout ratio is presently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This represents a 7.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in Oracle by 12.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 8,019 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $411,748,000 after acquiring an additional 121,874 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,590,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,961 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,499,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Oracle in the third quarter valued at about $1,531,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.