Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 119,756 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Verus Capital Partners LLC lessened its position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 66.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 59,766 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 119,756 shares during the quarter. Exxon Mobil accounts for approximately 0.6% of Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $6,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in XOM. Fiducient Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 224.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC now owns 21,407 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,509,000 after buying an additional 14,803 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 82,500 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,671,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 4.3% in the third quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 7,033 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $824,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 4,634 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 27,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exxon Mobil Stock Up 1.1 %

XOM opened at $111.33 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.23. The company has a market capitalization of $483.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.89. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1-year low of $104.03 and a 1-year high of $126.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.77 by ($0.10). Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 12.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $231,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.25.

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.