Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Shares Sold by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,227 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 544 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $1,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% in the 4th 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, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 27,566 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 1.4 %

OXY opened at $45.45 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $44.70 and a one year high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.03 and its 200-day moving average is $50.44. The company has a market capitalization of $42.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on OXY shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stephens restated 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 assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.68.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.