Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $6.34 Million in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 128,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,337,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. 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. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 6,854,394 shares of company stock worth $315,101,532. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of OXY opened at $46.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $43.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 1.55. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.17 and a fifty-two week high of $71.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $49.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.94.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.37%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Occidental Petroleum 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.