Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Trading Down 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) shares dropped 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $109.05 and last traded at $108.86. Approximately 2,932,359 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 14,326,110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bernstein Bank raised their target price on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.25.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $473.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $109.16 and a 200-day moving average of $114.88.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share 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 previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of Exxon Mobil stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,989,570. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of XOM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,936,737,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,805,982 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Exxon Mobil by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,983,110 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,731,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,538,694 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 1,524.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,445,922 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $585,818,000 after purchasing an additional 5,110,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $3,936,929,000 after purchasing an additional 4,415,012 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% 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.