Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 1,503,129 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) by 65.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 795,347 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 1,503,129 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.08% of Occidental Petroleum worth $39,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of OXY. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OXY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $58.00 price objective on Occidental Petroleum and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com lowered Occidental Petroleum from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $57.90.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Up 12.6 %

Shares of OXY traded up $4.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $40.65. The company had a trading volume of 40,045,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,688,105. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $71.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.14 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired 763,017 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This trade represents a 0.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.