Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Trims Stock Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. trimmed its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,144 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,788 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of OXY. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,164 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OXY has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 1.7 %

OXY opened at $47.31 on Tuesday. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $44.70 and a one year high of $71.19. The company has a market cap of $44.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $48.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. Analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.