Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Trading 0.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)’s stock price rose 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $105.64 and last traded at $106.03. Approximately 3,339,372 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 14,922,236 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on XOM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Argus upgraded Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho reduced their price target on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $132.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.25.

Exxon Mobil Trading Up 1.3 %

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.87. 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 firm has a market cap of $473.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.89.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Exxon Mobil

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,936,737,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 14.4% in 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 buying an additional 5,538,694 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Exxon Mobil by 1,524.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,445,922 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $585,818,000 after acquiring an additional 5,110,603 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 16.3% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 46,017,358 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,950,087,000 after acquiring an additional 2,998,892 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.