L.K. Benson & Company P.C. Buys New Holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

L.K. Benson & Company P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,173 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,709,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $786,453,000 after acquiring an additional 521,932 shares during the period. United Bank increased 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 valued at $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 157.5% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,925 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 5,459 shares during the period. Windle Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 8.6% during the third quarter. Windle Wealth LLC now owns 58,926 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,907,000 after purchasing an additional 4,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 62,104 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,280,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on XOM shares. HSBC reduced their price target on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Exxon Mobil from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.15.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:XOM opened at $113.61 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.57. Exxon Mobil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $103.67 and a fifty-two week high of $126.34. The company has a market cap of $492.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.77 by ($0.10). Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 12.92%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.51%.

Insider Transactions at Exxon Mobil

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $231,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,989,570. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.