Advisors Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,127 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 9,619 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $2,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

OXY stock traded up $1.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.05. 11,099,956 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,989,019. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $44.70 and a 52 week high of $71.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10 and a beta of 1.51.

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Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) 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. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. As a group, research analysts expect 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 issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on OXY. StockNews.com cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $54.00 price objective on Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The purchase 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 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.