Principal Securities Inc. Acquires 5,277 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,519 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,277 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $9,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 14.0% in the third quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 26,825 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,144,000 after buying an additional 3,296 shares during the last quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. increased its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 9.2% during the third quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 11,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 47,247 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,538,000 after acquiring an additional 2,438 shares during the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC lifted its position in Exxon Mobil by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 6,097 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trilogy Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.3% during the third quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 30,278 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,549,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Exxon Mobil stock opened at $110.05 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Exxon Mobil Co. has a twelve month low of $102.64 and a twelve month high of $126.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $108.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.61. The firm has a market cap of $483.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.89.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is 50.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XOM has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of Exxon Mobil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was 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 owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,989,570. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Exxon Mobil

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.