10,104 Shares in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Purchased by Sage Investment Counsel LLC

Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,104 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $499,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE:OXY opened at $48.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $45.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.55. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.17 and a fifty-two week high of $71.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $49.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.11.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted 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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. Analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on OXY shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.55.

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.