Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 769,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 4,276 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $38,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $424,000. Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $618,000. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 26,516 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 5,942 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth about $3,447,000. Finally, Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,409 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 2,951 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on OXY shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532 in the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 3.2 %

NYSE:OXY opened at $50.42 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $45.17 and a one year high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.41.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. Equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.56 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 dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.07%.

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.