Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price was down 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $165.84 and last traded at $166.64. Approximately 4,303,654 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 8,338,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ORCL. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market cap of $466.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $179.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Oracle by 21.9% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC increased its stake in Oracle by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank boosted its stake in Oracle by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its position in Oracle by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 17,626 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,003,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, W Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.1% during the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.