California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,085,539 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 48,036 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $53,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,208 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of OXY opened at $49.22 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $48.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.85. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $44.70 and a twelve month high of $71.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 1.51.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. On average, research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on OXY. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Raymond James cut Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently 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.