Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 113,163 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 361,329 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 113,163 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $17,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired 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. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OXY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price target for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:OXY traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $49.41. 8,501,189 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,238,706. The company has a market cap of $46.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25 and a beta of 1.51. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $48.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.86. 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 one year low of $44.70 and a one year high of $71.19.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. 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. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.