Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 550 Shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,874 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 550 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 221.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 10,382 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 8.3% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 137,163 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,069,000 after purchasing an additional 10,456 shares in the last quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,331,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 221,970 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,440,000 after buying an additional 29,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter worth about $593,000. 88.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of Occidental Petroleum stock opened at $50.81 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $52.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $49.51 and a 12 month high of $71.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 1.58.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. Occidental Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Occidental Petroleum

In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OXY has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $65.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Occidental Petroleum in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.78.

Occidental Petroleum 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.