Candriam S.C.A. Has $2.18 Million Stock Holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,056 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $2,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,846,890 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $710,886,000 after buying an additional 444,850 shares during the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% during the 3rd quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $475,389,000 after purchasing an additional 7,680,598 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,236,980 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $209,349,000 after purchasing an additional 229,210 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,461,033 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $121,600,000 after purchasing an additional 805,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,973,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $101,720,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OXY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.50.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders acquired a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532 in the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 3.4 %

OXY opened at $47.26 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $49.27 and its 200-day moving average is $50.64. The company has a market cap of $44.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 1.51. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $44.70 and a 1-year high of $71.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. Equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 39.34%.

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.