Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 1.5% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) were down 1.5% on Monday . The company traded as low as $163.20 and last traded at $167.55. Approximately 3,096,726 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 14,343,751 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ORCL. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Oracle Price Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $479.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $171.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.00.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 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 analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 39.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oracle

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 129.0% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 213 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.