Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) Shares Bought by Choate Investment Advisors

Choate Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 119,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,717 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $12,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on XOM shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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 reduced their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bernstein Bank upped their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.25.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of XOM stock opened at $111.98 on Friday. Exxon Mobil Co. has a one year low of $103.67 and a one year high of $126.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $109.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $485.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

Insider Transactions at Exxon Mobil

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $231,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.