Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Shares Sold by Fruth Investment Management

Fruth Investment Management reduced its position in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,400 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Imperial Oil were worth $517,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,753 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 3,920 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Imperial Oil by 21.0% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,347 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Imperial Oil by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,900 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Imperial Oil Trading Down 0.4 %

IMO stock opened at $66.47 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Imperial Oil Limited has a 12 month low of $56.35 and a 12 month high of $80.17.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.4972 dividend. This is a boost from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is presently 25.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on IMO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research lowered Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Imperial Oil presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.00.

Imperial Oil Profile

Imperial Oil Limited engages in exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Chemical segments. The Upstream segment explores and produces crude oil, natural gas, synthetic crude oil, and bitumen. The Downstream segment transports and refines crude oil, blends refined products, and distributes and markets of refined products.