Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 2.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) were down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $190.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Oracle traded as low as $136.76 and last traded at $137.64. Approximately 2,517,541 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 8,938,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.87.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade 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 available at the SEC website. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Second Line Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% in the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Oracle by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $391.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $163.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.16.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.02). Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is 46.95%.

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.