Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Shares Sold by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC reduced its holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 27.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,443 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 38,097 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $4,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,365,992,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434,098 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 2.9% during 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 buying an additional 398,467 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,357,689 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $314,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278,389 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.7% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 229,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,117,777 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $203,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337,728 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $68.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $58.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.19.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $40.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $34.79 and a 52 week high of $68.43.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.

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