Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 1,503,129 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 65.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 795,347 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 1,503,129 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.08% of Occidental Petroleum worth $39,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OXY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded 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. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 target price on Occidental Petroleum and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.23.

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Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of NYSE:OXY traded down $1.68 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.07. The stock had a trading volume of 14,192,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,477,732. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $36.64 and a 52 week high of $71.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm's fifty day moving average is $47.66 and its 200 day moving average is $49.60. The stock has a market cap of $34.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 1.02.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. 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. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

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.