Verity Asset Management Inc. Invests $984,000 in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Verity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 19,913 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $984,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of OXY. H&H International Investment LLC raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 497.7% during the 3rd quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 9,223,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $475,389,000 after purchasing an additional 7,680,598 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,461,033 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $121,600,000 after buying an additional 805,525 shares during the last quarter. Anson Funds Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3,645.8% in the third quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 765,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,453,000 after buying an additional 745,050 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,846,890 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $710,886,000 after acquiring an additional 444,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at $18,554,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on OXY shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Raymond James raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens increased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.71.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $46.38 on Tuesday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.17 and a fifty-two week high of $71.18. The company has a market capitalization of $43.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.92%.

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.