State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 36.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 239,990 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 137,868 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $15,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% during the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $51.05 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $57.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.57. The firm has a market cap of $46.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $49.90 and a 52-week high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 17.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 334,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $19,984,044.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 255,281,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,253,071,059. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 334,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $19,984,044.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 255,281,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,253,071,059. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.