Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 1.6% After Insider Selling

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) fell 1.6% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $164.50 and last traded at $164.78. 2,212,947 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 8,556,944 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.47.

Specifically, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Oracle from $105.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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. Melius raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Oracle from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.88.

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $141.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68. The company has a market capitalization of $453.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 171.38%. Oracle’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.