Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $642,000 Investment in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $642,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,208 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

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Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

OXY stock traded down $3.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $36.90. The stock had a trading volume of 15,298,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,709,875. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.25. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $71.19. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $34.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 1.02.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OXY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $57.90.

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.