Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Stock Price Down 1.2% Following Insider Selling

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL)’s share price fell 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $183.43 and last traded at $184.24. 4,085,595 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 12,920,499 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.47.

Specifically, CEO Safra Catz sold 2,101,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.35, for a total value of $389,448,893.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,331,027.20. The trade was a 65.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Safra Catz sold 345,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.56, for a total transaction of $64,050,487.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,118,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,565,931.52. This represents a 23.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ORCL has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Oracle in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Oracle from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Oracle from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Oracle from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Oracle currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Oracle Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.49. The stock has a market cap of $513.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.89, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Oracle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Oracle during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Oracle by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 184 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Oracle in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Oracle during the third quarter worth $51,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.