First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 266,825 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,055,070 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 266,825 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.11% of Occidental Petroleum worth $52,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE OXY traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.38. The company had a trading volume of 6,406,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,846,470. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $34.79 and a one year high of $68.43. The company has a market capitalization of $37.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 1.02. 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 50-day simple moving average of $44.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.21.

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 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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.19.

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.