Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 179,380 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 11,285 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $8,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of OXY. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 15.2% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 221,970 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $11,440,000 after acquiring an additional 29,344 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 124.5% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,481 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 10,248 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 52.5% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,143 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 1,770 shares during the last quarter. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $268,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 773,762 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,880,000 after acquiring an additional 51,042 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $45.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 1.55. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $44.70 and a 12 month high of $71.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.79.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.50.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum 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.