Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 2,865 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 56.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,984 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,865 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of OXY. Saxon Interests Inc. grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 93.2% during the fourth quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 8,395 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 72.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,886 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 4,581 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,571,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $2,639,000. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $476,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OXY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Stephens increased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.19.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of OXY opened at $49.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 1.57. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $45.17 and a 52 week high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.70 and a 200-day moving average of $53.20.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is 22.92%.

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.