Aviva PLC Sells 469,558 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Aviva PLC lowered its holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 55.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 383,269 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 469,558 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $18,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Empire Financial Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial boosted 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Mizuho lowered their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.27.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of OXY opened at $38.70 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.66 and a 200-day moving average of $49.60. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $37.67 and a 1 year high of $71.19. The company has a market capitalization of $36.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Occidental Petroleum 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.