Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 0.3% on Insider Selling

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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Oracle from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Oracle from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on Oracle and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Thirteen research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.65.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $353.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $160.05 and its 200 day moving average is $169.38.

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). The company had revenue of $14.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 133.25% and a net margin of 21.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Oracle Co. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Oracle’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ORCL. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its stake in Oracle by 1.5% in the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Oracle by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Oracle by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 5,447 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Oracle by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

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.