Welch Group LLC Purchases 3,142 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Welch Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 514,753 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,142 shares during the quarter. Exxon Mobil comprises approximately 2.6% of Welch Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $60,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 6.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,161,783 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,249,607,000 after acquiring an additional 2,676,652 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 11.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,312,338 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,640,756,000 after acquiring an additional 4,080,716 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 16.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,794,077 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,235,972,000 after acquiring an additional 5,330,887 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 5,235,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position in Exxon Mobil by 25.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,511,952 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,197,989,000 after buying an additional 5,523,429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:XOM opened at $117.33 on Wednesday. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1 year low of $95.77 and a 1 year high of $126.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $462.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $117.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.39.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.10. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $93.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Exxon Mobil in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $146.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.44.

Exxon Mobil 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.