First Manhattan CO. LLC. Trims Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lessened its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,125 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 15,975 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 773,762 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $39,880,000 after purchasing an additional 51,042 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 77,080 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,973,000 after purchasing an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 23,368 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 146,485 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $7,238,000 after buying an additional 9,322 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 11,630 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE OXY traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $44.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,899,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,133,741. The company's 50-day moving average is $42.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.14. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $34.79 and a 1-year high of $64.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 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 $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OXY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Roth Capital set a $54.00 price objective on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.48.

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.