Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 1.3% - Should You Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 1.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $160.30 and last traded at $160.89. Approximately 2,078,815 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 9,410,647 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Oracle from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Oracle from $214.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.75. The company has a market capitalization of $449.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. Oracle's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,646,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,785,531.60. This represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,049,400.30. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,366 shares of company stock valued at $4,015,723 over the last three months. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company's stock.

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.

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