ARS Investment Partners LLC Sells 1,761 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

ARS Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 228,726 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,761 shares during the quarter. Exxon Mobil accounts for approximately 2.2% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $24,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the second quarter worth $46,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil during the third quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the third quarter worth about $63,000. 61.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exxon Mobil Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of Exxon Mobil stock opened at $109.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $481.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.91. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52-week low of $96.73 and a 52-week high of $126.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.01. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 14.73%. The company had revenue of $90.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This is a boost from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on XOM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $118.00 to $120.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.84.

Exxon Mobil Profile

Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas.