Sentry Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,886 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 591 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 243,715,804 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,552,271,000 after buying an additional 19,586,612 shares during the last quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the first quarter worth $67,601,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter valued at $63,880,000. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the second quarter valued at about $42,744,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 237.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 756,862 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $45,192,000 after purchasing an additional 532,847 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 1,060,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $59.59 per share, with a total value of $63,204,312.27. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 254,947,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,192,295,484.17. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 1,060,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.59 per share, for a total transaction of $63,204,312.27. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 254,947,063 shares in the company, valued at $15,192,295,484.17. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on OXY. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.50.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 1.4 %

OXY opened at $50.66 on Thursday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $49.90 and a one year high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 1.58.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

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.