Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Reduces Position in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. reduced its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 71.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,442 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 3,682 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 5.2% during the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 2.2% during the third quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,191 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Occidental Petroleum by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,241 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Empire Financial Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the company’s stock.

Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:OXY opened at $49.26 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $49.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.00. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 1-year low of $45.17 and a 1-year high of $71.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 1.57.

Occidental Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OXY has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised Occidental Petroleum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 3,614,015 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was bought 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 owns 264,178,414 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,535,678.40. The trade was a 1.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by 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.