J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Reduces Stock Holdings in Occidental Petroleum Corporation $OXY

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG slashed its Occidental Petroleum stake by 91% in the first quarter, leaving it with 13,616 shares worth about $885,000.
• Occidental Petroleum reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, with EPS of $1.06 versus estimates of $0.60, though revenue of $5.11 billion came in below forecasts and fell 8.3% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, payable July 15, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating and average target price of $64.26.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 91.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,616 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 138,430 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 68.5% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 750 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC grew its position in Occidental Petroleum by 155.0% during the 4th quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 765 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $54.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $54.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 0.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $54.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.75. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 1 year low of $38.80 and a 1 year high of $67.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.44 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 19.98% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The firm's revenue was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Richard A. Jackson purchased 4,770 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $52.38 per share, with a total value of $249,852.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 444,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,261,853.24. The trade was a 1.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OXY has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. HSBC boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Occidental Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.26.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company conducts upstream activities to discover and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and marketing functions to transport and sell its production. Occidental also owns a chemicals business that manufactures and sells industrial chemicals and related products for a range of end markets.

Occidental's operations are concentrated in the United States, with a significant presence in the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and production activities in several international regions, including parts of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

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