Virtu Financial LLC Sells 57,309 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Virtu Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 87.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,128 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 57,309 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,533,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 740.1% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 37,393 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,848,000 after purchasing an additional 32,942 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $1,266,000. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 57.9% during the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,635 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $855,000 after buying an additional 6,466 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on OXY. StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.82.

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Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE OXY traded down $0.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.84. 7,892,518 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,245,959. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.70 and a fifty-two week high of $71.19. 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 company has a market cap of $45.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.51. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $48.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.87.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. 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 Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.