Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 5.2% on Disappointing Earnings

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price fell 5.2% during trading on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $137.70 and last traded at $141.10. 11,847,020 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 0% from the average session volume of 11,831,542 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.79.

The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ORCL shares. UBS Group reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price objective on Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.92.

Insider Activity at Oracle

In related news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total transaction of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 42.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $403.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $166.82 and a 200 day moving average of $169.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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.