Insider Selling: Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) CEO Sells 2,101,154 Shares of Stock

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) has recently made headlines as its CEO, Safra Catz, sold 2,101,154 shares of the company's stock on January 22nd. The average price at which the shares were sold was $185.35, leading to a total transaction value of approximately $389 million. Following this sale, Catz retains ownership of 1,118,592 shares valued at around $207 million, marking a significant 65.26% decrease in her position.

Additional Transactions by Safra Catz

In addition to the major sale, Safra Catz conducted further trading shortly after. On January 24th, she sold another 345,174 shares at an average price of $185.56, amounting to roughly $64 million.

Current Stock Performance

As of Friday, Oracle shares were trading down 1.5%, settling at $183.59. In total, over 12 million shares exchanged hands, compared to an average daily volume of nearly 13.5 million. Oracle holds a market capitalization of $513.5 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.89. The stock has fluctuation ranges from a fifty-two week low of $106.51 to a high of $198.31. Its moving averages show a 50-day average of $174.41 and a 200-day average of $162.22, while the company maintains a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65.

Oracle's Recent Financial Performance

Oracle released its quarterly earnings results on December 9th, reporting earnings per share of $1.47, which was slightly below analysts' expectations of $1.48. The company reported a net margin of 21.16% alongside a return on equity of 133.25%. For that quarter, its revenue was recorded at $14.06 billion, just shy of the estimated $14.12 billion. Nonetheless, this reflected an 8.6% increase year over year, and analysts project Oracle will achieve an EPS of 5.01 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement

On January 9th, Oracle announced its quarterly dividend, distributing $0.40 per share to shareholders recorded by January 23rd, translating to an annual dividend yield of 0.87%. The company's dividend payout ratio stands at 39.12%.

Analyst Updates

Recently, several analysts reviewed Oracle's stock: StockNews.com changed its rating from "buy" to "hold," while Sanford C. Bernstein updated their price target from $201 to $202, rating the stock as "outperform." Meanwhile, BNP Paribas awarded Oracle a "strong-buy" rating, and Royal Bank of Canada maintained a position rating with a price target of $165. Overall, with input from various analysts, Oracle holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target set at $182.73.

Institutional Investor Movements

Recent changes in institutional holdings have been noted as well, with Tempus Wealth Planning LLC increasing its stake by 1.8% while Flavin Financial Services added a new stake valued at $2.72 million. Patron Partners raised its stake by 3.2%, while Columbus Macro saw an increase of 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Currently, 42.44% of Oracle's stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Oracle

Oracle Corporation develops and provides a comprehensive range of products and services that cater to enterprise information technology needs worldwide. Its offerings include various cloud software applications such as Oracle Fusion ERP, Oracle Cerner healthcare, and a multitude of other enterprise management solutions.

Oracle, CEO, Stock