Park Avenue Securities LLC Trims Stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Park Avenue Securities LLC trimmed its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,808 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,267 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $54.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $49.75 and a 12 month high of $71.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $54.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.28. The company has a market cap of $48.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.62% and a return on equity of 17.91%. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 5th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.29.

Occidental Petroleum 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.