Van ECK Associates Corp Cuts Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 23.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,092 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 4,389 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $476,000. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth $14,199,000. Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 221.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 10,382 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 990,521 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $48,942,000 after purchasing an additional 50,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth $2,509,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $50.42 on Friday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $45.17 and a 12-month high of $71.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.37.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. 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 39.34%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 3,614,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, 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 through this link. Insiders acquired a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OXY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of 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, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.