Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 1,274 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,708 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,274 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 85,331 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,216,000 after buying an additional 3,725 shares during the last quarter. Ellerson Group Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $3,434,000. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $322,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $260,000. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC raised its position in Occidental Petroleum by 44.6% in the 4th quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 19,910 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 6,145 shares during the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on OXY shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho decreased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 target price on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.86.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $46.11 on Thursday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $44.70 and a 52 week high of $71.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.47. 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 $43.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90 and a beta of 1.51.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its earnings results 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. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders purchased a total of 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532 in the last quarter. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Occidental Petroleum Company 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.