Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Shares Sold by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. cut its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,097 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 795 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth $26,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. TLW Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on OXY shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC started coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Scotiabank raised shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.06.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $66.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $58.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 1.64. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $55.12 and a 12 month high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $63.21 and its 200-day moving average is $61.13.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.74. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The firm had revenue of $7.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. Occidental Petroleum’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is 22.51%.

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.