Columbia Asset Management Makes New Investment in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Columbia Asset Management bought a new position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 24,069 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,589,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of XOM. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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 shares of Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,989,570. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on XOM shares. Mizuho lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bernstein Bank raised their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.05.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of XOM opened at $118.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.31. Exxon Mobil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $103.67 and a fifty-two week high of $126.34. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.85. The company has a market capitalization of $516.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 9.63%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 3.33%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio 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.