Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Stock Holdings Boosted by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,242 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,337,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in Occidental Petroleum by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 246,029 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $12,156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,746 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 90,979 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,495,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 57,934 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,863,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $46.36 on Tuesday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $45.17 and a 52 week high of $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $43.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.94.

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. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. As a group, research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532 over the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on OXY. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $54.00 price target on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.55.

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.