National Pension Service Has $46.36 Million Stock Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

National Pension Service reduced its position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 39.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 938,243 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 618,218 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $46,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 160.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 494 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 purchased at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $48.64 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $45.17 and a 1 year high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for 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, research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company 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 1.97%. 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 39.34%.

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.