Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Trading Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price traded down 2.8% on Friday . The company traded as low as $242.00 and last traded at $246.73. 5,441,277 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 12,058,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $253.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Loop Capital set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective (up previously from $202.00) on shares of Oracle in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.29.

Oracle Stock Down 3.7%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $213.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.85. The company has a market cap of $686.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.32, for a total value of $770,655.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,337,214.04. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,507,622.93. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 431,169 shares of company stock valued at $82,908,609. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 7.2% in the second quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 643 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oracle by 5.7% in the second quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 798 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Services boosted its stake in Oracle by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 4,563 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $998,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 11,465 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,507,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Oracle by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 2,385 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.