Argent Capital Management LLC Sells 19,236 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Argent Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 680,882 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 19,236 shares during the period. Exxon Mobil comprises 2.1% of Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $73,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in XOM. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 7,761.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,893,677 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $808,077,000 after purchasing an additional 6,805,982 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 19.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 32,308,002 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,719,296,000 after buying an additional 5,235,607 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 16.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,522,556 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,936,929,000 after acquiring an additional 4,415,012 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 117.5% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 7,668,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $882,795,000 after acquiring an additional 4,142,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 2nd quarter valued at $469,284,000. Institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of XOM opened at $111.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $489.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.55. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 12 month low of $95.77 and a 12 month high of $126.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $90.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.98 billion. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 14.73% and a net margin of 9.61%. Exxon Mobil’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.27 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.99 per share. This is an increase from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is 49.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $117.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.84.

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.