State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 400 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 180,339 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $11,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 139.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 78,529 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,104,000 after buying an additional 45,722 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth about $699,000. Hi Line Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.2% during the first quarter. Hi Line Capital Management LLC now owns 80,427 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,244,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 241.1% in the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 69,213 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,498,000 after purchasing an additional 48,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $290,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of OXY traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $62.36. The stock had a trading volume of 6,502,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,041,331. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $62.86 and its 200 day moving average is $61.80. The firm has a market cap of $55.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $55.12 and a 1 year high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 17.50%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 1,386,844 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $82,752,981.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 250,583,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,952,323,710.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have acquired 4,656,747 shares of company stock valued at $278,664,028 in the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.