UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Purchases 14,415 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 29.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 63,049 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 14,415 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $3,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:OXY opened at $48.84 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $44.70 and a 12-month high of $71.19.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on OXY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Roth Capital set a $54.00 target price on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.82.

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.