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

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price dropped 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 were traded 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.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.65.

Insider Transactions at Oracle

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,331,027.20. This trade represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at $2,216,314,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oracle in the 4th quarter worth about $930,095,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Oracle by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,825,360 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $2,303,858,000 after buying an additional 2,350,448 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Oracle by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $26,231,127,000 after buying an additional 2,296,069 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 268.4% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,077,947 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $512,909,000 after buying an additional 2,242,520 shares during the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oracle Trading Up 1.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The firm has a market cap of $397.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.02.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.