Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $148.79, but opened at $143.42. Oracle shares last traded at $143.58, with a volume of 4,430,682 shares trading hands.

The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ORCL. BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho increased their price target on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Oracle to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,565,931.52. This trade represents a 23.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORCL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,069 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,847,561 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,332,803,000 after purchasing an additional 156,269 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Oracle by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $5,954,961,000 after purchasing an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,366,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722,037 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Down 5.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The company’s 50 day moving average is $167.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.58. The company has a market capitalization of $395.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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.