Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 0.3% Following Insider Selling

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price was down 0.3% on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $139.51 and last traded at $141.07. Approximately 1,345,299 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 8,545,344 shares. The stock had previously closed at $141.50.

Specifically, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $99,966,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jeffrey Berg sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total value of $3,220,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 210,712 shares in the company, valued at $30,157,101.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141,546,631.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 902,500 shares of company stock worth $113,708,350. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ORCL. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Oracle in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Oracle from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.79.

Oracle Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $123.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.11. The firm has a market cap of $388.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.02, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.02). Oracle had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 223.01%. The company had revenue of $14.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at $1,210,181,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Oracle by 9,299.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,170,999 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $865,472,000 after buying an additional 8,084,067 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Oracle by 5.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 147,273,413 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $15,599,200,000 after acquiring an additional 7,883,515 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 148.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 12,872,300 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,616,855,000 after acquiring an additional 7,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Oracle by 382.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,563,366 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $481,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,617,413 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.