Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Shares Down 0.7% Following Insider Selling

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) was down 0.7% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $125.08 and last traded at $125.57. Approximately 1,646,809 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 9,143,628 shares. The stock had previously closed at $126.47.

Specifically, CEO Safra Catz sold 790,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $99,966,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,118,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,546,631.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 42.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on ORCL shares. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, December 22nd. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Oracle from $144.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Oracle from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. William Blair upgraded shares of Oracle from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, Argus raised Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.76.

Oracle Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $116.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.47. The firm has a market cap of $345.10 billion, a PE ratio of 33.13, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.00.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.29 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 336.11% and a net margin of 20.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Oracle’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORCL. Invst LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,299 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 7,334 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Oracle by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 8,516 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,244 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Oracle by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,435 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,525,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during 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.