Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 1.2%

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) shares traded down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $121.42 and last traded at $122.55. 2,012,902 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 7,947,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Oracle from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. HSBC raised their price objective on Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Argus raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, William Blair raised Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.76.

Oracle Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $337.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $121.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.03.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Oracle had a return on equity of 336.11% and a net margin of 20.27%. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director George H. Conrades sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.00, for a total value of $2,320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,976. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 880,000 shares of company stock worth $110,488,150. 42.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invst LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,299 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 7,334 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 8,516 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,244 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,435 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,525,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.