Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) Shares Purchased by Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,199 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $2,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Exxon Mobil by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 93,299,598 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,023,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,617 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter worth $6,936,737,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Exxon Mobil by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,983,110 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,731,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538,694 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 35,662,602 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,836,226,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140,046 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 34,763,179 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,739,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,111 shares during the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $231,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

XOM opened at $106.84 on Friday. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52-week low of $97.80 and a 52-week high of $126.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.81. The company has a market cap of $462.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.61.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 9.63%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XOM has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut 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. Argus upgraded shares of Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.75.

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.