Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 1.2% - Time to Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 1.2% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $154.26 and last traded at $155.42. 1,500,901 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 9,467,789 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Westpark Capital started coverage on Oracle in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Oracle from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.42.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $438.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $143.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.24.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle's dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,866 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.53, for a total transaction of $428,552.98. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,749,670.92. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.77, for a total value of $648,850.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,538,339.30. This trade represents a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723. 42.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $930,095,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the first quarter valued at about $732,692,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Oracle by 15,012.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,755,096 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $664,810,000 after acquiring an additional 4,723,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,925,413 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $22,498,982,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513,464 shares during the period. 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.

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