Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 3% – Here’s What Happened

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price traded down 3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $141.02 and last traded at $141.37. 3,293,001 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 8,521,099 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ORCL has been the topic of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas raised Oracle to a “strong-buy” 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.20.

Oracle Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $393.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.22.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,565,931.52. The trade was a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Milestone Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $473,000. Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $800,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 200.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 172,483 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $28,743,000 after buying an additional 115,059 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter worth $2,526,000. 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.