Everstar Asset Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Everstar Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,218 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Exxon Mobil by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,194,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,777,735,000 after buying an additional 1,622,064 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,936,737,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,983,110 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,731,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,538,694 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Exxon Mobil by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,860,532 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,427,237,000 after purchasing an additional 700,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $3,936,929,000 after purchasing an additional 4,415,012 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on XOM shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $141.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.05.

Exxon Mobil Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:XOM opened at $117.66 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $110.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.74. The company has a market cap of $510.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83. Exxon Mobil Co. has a twelve month low of $103.67 and a twelve month high of $126.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share (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 last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is 50.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at $1,989,570. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.