Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Purchases 1,159 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 120.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,121 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on OXY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.82.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of OXY opened at $48.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $44.70 and a 12 month high of $71.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.51.

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 business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

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.