Whipplewood Advisors LLC Makes New $27,000 Investment in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 553 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,241 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,234 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% during the third quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $48.85 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $45.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.06. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $45.17 and a one year high of $71.18.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on OXY shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.60 per share, for a total transaction of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 264,178,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders acquired 6,854,394 shares of company stock valued at $315,101,532 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.