Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Buys 10,120 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 28.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,944 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,120 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $2,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $1,360,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 22.5% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 9,160 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 149.8% during the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 11,347 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 6,804 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $685,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $7,743,000. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $47.96 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66 and a beta of 1.51. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $44.70 and a 52 week high of $71.19. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $48.74 and a 200 day moving average of $50.12.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Occidental Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.82 per share, with a total value of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OXY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Roth Capital set a $54.00 price objective on Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.45.

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.