United Services Automobile Association Raises Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

United Services Automobile Association lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,351 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the quarter. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at $874,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,508 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 4,174 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $488,000. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $515,000. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.1% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 33,635 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,734,000 after buying an additional 1,017 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $47.91 on Tuesday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $44.70 and a 52-week high of $71.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.93. 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 company has a market cap of $44.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.51.

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. The business 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 39.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on OXY shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.45.

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.