Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 4% - Here's Why

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) fell 4% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $182.22 and last traded at $182.70. 8,368,797 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 8,262,293 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ORCL shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com raised Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Down 4.0 %

The company's fifty day moving average is $177.10 and its 200-day moving average is $151.11. The company has a market cap of $506.27 billion, a PE ratio of 47.09, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Oracle's payout ratio is 41.24%.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,194,683 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $5,977,015,000 after acquiring an additional 885,041 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,480,384 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,370,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917,416 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 1.8% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,898,029 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $3,049,824,000 after purchasing an additional 310,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Oracle by 0.4% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,608,951 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $2,489,345,000 after purchasing an additional 54,868 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.