Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 80,194 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 53.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,742 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 80,194 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $13,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 24.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,021,929 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $779,983,000 after buying an additional 2,334,651 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,995,258 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $357,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,052 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 2.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,035,799 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $285,732,000 after purchasing an additional 118,928 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,665,494 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $302,697,000 after purchasing an additional 125,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth $267,173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OXY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Scotiabank upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $63.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James dropped their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.06.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of OXY traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.63. The company had a trading volume of 9,789,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,809,430. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $59.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 1.64. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $55.12 and a twelve month high of $71.18. The company's 50-day moving average is $63.21 and its 200-day moving average is $61.13.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 16.24%. The firm had revenue of $7.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. 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.