Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Shares Sold by Modern Wealth Management LLC

Modern Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 978 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,208 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of OXY opened at $49.47 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.91. The firm has a market cap of $46.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 1.51. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $44.70 and a 12-month high of $71.19. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on OXY. Mizuho cut their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Company 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.