Ascent Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Exxon Mobil Corporation $XOM

Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) by 66.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,529 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,245 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $11,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 45,323,453 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,390,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340,343 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,373,392 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,850,167,000 after buying an additional 512,860 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 10.8% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 27,017,683 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,213,848,000 after buying an additional 2,639,797 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 9.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 26,386,120 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,966,598,000 after buying an additional 2,329,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 25,468,498 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,028,968,000 after buying an additional 909,386 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of XOM opened at $109.23 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $465.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.57. Exxon Mobil Corporation has a 1 year low of $97.80 and a 1 year high of $126.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.10.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $81.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.07 billion. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Corporation will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exxon Mobil

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total transaction of $238,351.10. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 13,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,413.05. This represents a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $129.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.00.

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.