Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 759,345 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 431,352,864 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 759,345 shares during the period. Exxon Mobil makes up approximately 0.8% of Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Exxon Mobil worth $46,400,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $231,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,989,570. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on XOM. Bernstein Bank raised their price target on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $132.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Argus upgraded Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.15.

Exxon Mobil Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of XOM stock opened at $115.30 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $110.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.57. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $103.67 and a 1 year high of $126.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $500.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.51%.

Exxon Mobil Company 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.