Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 0.8% - What's Next?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) was down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $145.72 and last traded at $148.17. Approximately 1,384,436 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 9,396,089 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ORCL. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report 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. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $167.00 price objective for the company. Fourteen investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oracle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $142.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.36. The company has a market cap of $421.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given 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 1.33%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total transaction of $648,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, 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 have sold a total of 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 over the last ninety days. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $930,095,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $664,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,723,631 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,303,858,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.