Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Shares Sold by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC reduced its position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 87.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of OXY. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $49.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $44.70 and a one year high of $71.19. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $48.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.91. The stock has a market cap of $46.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 1.51.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on OXY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price objective on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.82.

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.