Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 0.4% – Time to Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares traded down 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $187.25 and last traded at $188.89. 1,670,814 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 8,224,021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $189.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ORCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.52.

Oracle Stock Down 1.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $172.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.60. The firm has a market cap of $509.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.35, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Oracle Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 41.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Oracle

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.