Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Purchases 4,581 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 72.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,886 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,581 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gateway Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 4,847 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 5.2% during the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,191 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,241 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Empire Financial Management Company LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $51.98 on Tuesday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1 year low of $45.17 and a 1 year high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.70 and its 200 day moving average is $53.40. The company has a market cap of $48.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is presently 22.92%.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on OXY. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.19.

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.