Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) Shares Bought by Berkshire Hathaway Inc

Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 264,178,414 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 8,896,890 shares during the period. Occidental Petroleum makes up approximately 4.9% of Berkshire Hathaway Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Berkshire Hathaway Inc owned 28.15% of Occidental Petroleum worth $13,053,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OXY. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,123,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,365,992,000 after purchasing an additional 10,434,098 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,245,357 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $701,816,000 after buying an additional 398,467 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,065,061 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $349,085,000 after buying an additional 491,797 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,357,689 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $314,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,236,980 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $209,349,000 after acquiring an additional 229,210 shares in the last quarter. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 264,941,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. The trade was a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $68.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.19.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OXY traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.37. The stock had a trading volume of 9,308,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,956,333. The company's 50-day moving average price is $43.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.50. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.79 and a fifty-two week high of $65.45. 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 company has a market capitalization of $37.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 1.02.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Occidental Petroleum's payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

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.