Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 2.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price traded down 2.3% during 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. 2,517,541 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 8,938,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.87.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ORCL. Citigroup cut their price objective on Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Oracle from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho increased their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.00.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Milestone Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oracle during the fourth quarter worth approximately $473,000. Fire Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at about $800,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Oracle by 200.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 172,483 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $28,743,000 after acquiring an additional 115,059 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Oracle during the 4th quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,526,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $163.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.16. The stock has a market cap of $391.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 payout ratio is 46.95%.

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.