Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 0.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) fell 0.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $174.25 and last traded at $174.70. 1,505,950 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 8,481,448 shares. The stock had previously closed at $176.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ORCL. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Oracle from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.42.

Oracle Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $480.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.04, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $152.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.28.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon E. Panetta sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.89, for a total value of $2,068,350.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,010,030.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,213,890 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $18,993,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,569 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Oracle by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,466,713 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $2,319,604,000 after acquiring an additional 82,551 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Oracle by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,242,340 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,869,816,000 after acquiring an additional 296,866 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Oracle by 148.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,616,855,000 after acquiring an additional 7,699,141 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Oracle by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,318,962 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $1,033,430,000 after acquiring an additional 424,500 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.