Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 0.8%

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price dropped 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $166.51 and last traded at $166.68. Approximately 1,434,705 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 8,568,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Melius Research upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Oracle from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.13.

Oracle Price Performance

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 company has a fifty day moving average of $144.96 and a 200-day moving average of $133.74. The firm has a market cap of $467.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total value of $60,575,844.51. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $372,764,079.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Edward Screven sold 426,861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $60,575,844.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,626,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,764,079.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Lawrence Joseph Ellison sold 1,125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.69, for a total value of $161,651,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,145,732,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,630,281,802.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,573,181 shares of company stock valued at $225,338,245. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORCL. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 47.0% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 27,955 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,947,000 after purchasing an additional 8,939 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,045,000. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 5.0% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 5.8% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,927 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.