Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Shares Sold by APG Asset Management N.V.

APG Asset Management N.V. decreased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 139,979 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 22,451 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $6,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $37.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $46.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.05. 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 $71.19.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm 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%. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on OXY shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 target price on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Occidental Petroleum

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.