Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 1.2% – What’s Next?

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price was down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $162.16 and last traded at $163.74. Approximately 1,968,151 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 4,878,781 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Oracle from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded Oracle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Oracle from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.48.

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.61. The company has a market capitalization of $456.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.89, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.01). Oracle had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 133.25%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s payout ratio is currently 39.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Oracle by 21.9% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 312 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Cadence Bank grew its holdings in Oracle by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 7,605 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 17,626 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, W Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.