Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Shares Up 5.1% on Insider Buying Activity

Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)’s stock price shot up 5.1% during trading on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $48.00 and last traded at $47.68. 9,633,576 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 9,514,071 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.36.

Specifically, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 2,477,362 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.25 per share, for a total transaction of $114,577,992.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 257,758,886 shares in the company, valued at $11,921,348,477.50. This represents a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James boosted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.10.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 3.9 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.00. The company has a market cap of $44.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 22.92%.

Institutional Trading of Occidental Petroleum

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,846,890 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $710,886,000 after buying an additional 444,850 shares in the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% during the 3rd quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $475,389,000 after purchasing an additional 7,680,598 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,007,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $206,560,000 after purchasing an additional 98,703 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,707,555 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $233,687,000 after purchasing an additional 532,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,973,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $101,720,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The company's Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas.