Venturi Wealth Management LLC Sells 945 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 49.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 975 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 945 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $48,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Certified Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $476,000. Rule One Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at $14,199,000. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 221.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 10,382 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 990,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $48,942,000 after acquiring an additional 50,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $2,509,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of OXY stock opened at $48.87 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $45.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $49.31 and its 200 day moving average is $51.21. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $45.17 and a twelve month high of $71.18.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders purchased 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on OXY shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday. Citigroup dropped 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. Finally, Roth Capital set a $54.00 price objective on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.55.

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.