Generali Investments Management Co LLC Makes New $1.27 Million Investment in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 25,616 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,266,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of OXY. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 0.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 52,408 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,702,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,639 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,973,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $101,720,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter valued at about $1,360,000. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 22.5% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 9,160 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

NYSE OXY opened at $47.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.80 and a 200-day moving average of $50.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $44.70 and a 1-year high of $71.19.

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

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Occidental Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on OXY. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $81.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Occidental Petroleum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.45.

Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $45.60 per share, with a total value of $164,799,084.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,535,678.40. This trade represents a 1.39 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

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.