Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Oracle from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Oracle from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Oracle from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.52.

Oracle Stock Performance

Shares of ORCL stock opened at $173.52 on Friday. Oracle has a 12-month low of $99.26 and a 12-month high of $178.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.45.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Oracle will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $1,042,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter worth $35,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Oracle during the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in Oracle during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently 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.