Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,482 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 404 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,846,890 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $710,886,000 after buying an additional 444,850 shares in the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% in the 3rd quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $475,389,000 after buying an additional 7,680,598 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,007,770 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $206,560,000 after buying an additional 98,703 shares in the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,461,033 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $121,600,000 after buying an additional 805,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,973,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $101,720,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

OXY opened at $48.50 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.36 and a 200-day moving average of $51.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 1.55. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $45.17 and a 12-month high of $71.18. 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 (NYSE:OXY) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. Equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.55.

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.