Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 130,838 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 12.3%, now owning approximately 1.2 million shares valued at about $58.9 million.
• Occidental Petroleum's stock price rose by 1.7% following a quarterly earnings report where the company beat estimates with earnings of $0.39 per share.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 56.80%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 12.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,194,192 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 130,838 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Occidental Petroleum worth $58,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 108,232 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 5,160 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 80,892 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,059,000 after acquiring an additional 10,312 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 250,953 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $12,400,000 after acquiring an additional 7,303 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 86.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 297,672 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $14,708,000 after acquiring an additional 138,264 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 21,208 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 6,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on OXY. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.71.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Occidental Petroleum stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.08. 8,255,997 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,091,635. The company's fifty day moving average is $43.98 and its 200-day moving average is $44.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $43.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.08 and a beta of 0.91. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.78 and a 52 week high of $58.47.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 8.79%. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Corporation will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is presently 56.80%.

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.