Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,085,539 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 48,036 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.12% of Occidental Petroleum worth $53,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of OXY. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Empire Financial Management Company LLC grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,208 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on OXY. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James cut Occidental Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE OXY traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.34. The company had a trading volume of 6,078,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,208,095. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $48.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $46.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22 and a beta of 1.51. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $44.70 and a 1-year high of $71.19.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last released 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 business 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, analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

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.