Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Holdings in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 1,279.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 231,899 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 215,091 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $13,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 224,129,192 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $13,178,796,000 after purchasing an additional 12,422,073 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $267,173,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,021,929 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $779,983,000 after buying an additional 2,334,651 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 600.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,242,910 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $145,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,656 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 87.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,276,078 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $185,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,532,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on OXY. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Raymond James cut their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Occidental Petroleum has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.20.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of OXY stock traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,159,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,885,965. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.17 and a 200 day moving average of $60.85. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $55.12 and a 12-month high of $67.67. The stock has a market cap of $57.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 1.63.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The firm had revenue of $7.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 16.24%. Occidental Petroleum's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.51%.

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.