Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 6,740 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado decreased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 6.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 93,793 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,740 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $6,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 1,386,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.67 per share, for a total transaction of $82,752,981.48. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly 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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders bought 4,656,747 shares of company stock worth $278,664,028 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

OXY traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $59.95. 4,220,798 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,842,433. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $53.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 1.61. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $55.12 and a 52-week high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 17.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OXY has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.31.

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.