Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 0.3% After Insider Selling

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s stock price dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $118.86 and last traded at $127.92. Approximately 6,894,087 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 9,105,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.27.

Specifically, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 2,000 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.81, for a total value of $291,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,400.30. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Oracle from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Oracle from $212.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $194.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.65.

Oracle Stock Down 1.0 %

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 has a market capitalization of $355.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.09.

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

Oracle Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 46.95%.

Institutional Trading of Oracle

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 157,411,949 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $26,231,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,069 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $6,332,803,000 after buying an additional 156,269 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,814,302 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $5,954,961,000 after buying an additional 619,619 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Oracle by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Oracle by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,620,534 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,269,566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,892 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.