Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 926 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 77,080 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 926 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $3,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of OXY. Rule One Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $14,199,000. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 221.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $777,000 after buying an additional 10,382 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,509,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 27.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 70,580 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,638,000 after acquiring an additional 15,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 1,247.7% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 50,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,602,000 after acquiring an additional 46,740 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 2.8 %

Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $52.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $49.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 1.57. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.17 and a fifty-two week high of $71.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $49.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OXY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.19.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 3,614,015 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.