M Holdings Securities Inc. Makes New $943,000 Investment in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 19,087 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $943,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,365,992,000 after buying an additional 10,434,098 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,245,357 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $701,816,000 after purchasing an additional 398,467 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,357,689 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $314,133,000 after buying an additional 1,278,389 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,236,980 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $209,349,000 after acquiring an additional 229,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,958,596 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $146,184,000 after purchasing an additional 377,952 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 3.3 %

NYSE OXY traded up $1.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $39.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,284,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,816,904. 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 capitalization of $37.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 1.02. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $34.79 and a 1-year high of $68.43. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $45.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.72.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.14 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OXY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price objective on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.81.

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.