Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) dropped 2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $167.56 and last traded at $168.19. Approximately 1,265,660 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 8,354,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Mizuho upped their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.48.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $472.57 billion, a PE ratio of 41.31, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $179.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.28.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,847,561 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Oracle by 2.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 11.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during 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 during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,489,345,000 after purchasing an additional 54,868 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.