Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 2.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) dropped 2.2% on Thursday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $194.00 to $160.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Oracle traded as low as $145.76 and last traded at $147.64. Approximately 3,996,395 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 12,064,620 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.89.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Oracle and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Oracle news, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 1.5% in 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. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Oracle by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,441,556 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $12,003,241,000 after buying an additional 1,847,561 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Oracle by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,002,902 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $6,332,803,000 after buying an additional 156,269 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Oracle by 1.8% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 619,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Oracle by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,202,421 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,366,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Oracle Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.49. The company has a market capitalization of $413.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $14.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Oracle’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Oracle’s payout ratio is presently 39.12%.

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.