Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 372 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Heartland Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,746 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 372 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $1,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 8.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,709,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $786,453,000 after purchasing an additional 521,932 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 17,920 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,101,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the 3rd quarter worth $671,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 15.5% during the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 60,510 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,093,000 after acquiring an additional 8,110 shares during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the third quarter worth about $905,000. Institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

XOM opened at $117.66 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $110.73 and a 200 day moving average of $113.69. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52-week low of $103.67 and a 52-week high of $126.34. The stock has a market cap of $510.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on XOM. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bernstein Bank upped their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus upgraded Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.