Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Stock Position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 35.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,035,401 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 11,137,623 shares during the quarter. Exxon Mobil accounts for 0.6% of Legal & General Group Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.46% of Exxon Mobil worth $2,155,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of XOM. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 8.4% during 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 in the last quarter. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.7% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 17,920 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,101,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC increased its position in Exxon Mobil by 148.7% during the 3rd quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 44,200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,181,000 after purchasing an additional 26,430 shares in the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Exxon Mobil by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 14,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Passive Capital Management LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the third quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Trading Down 7.3 %

Exxon Mobil stock opened at $104.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.31. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1 year low of $98.75 and a 1 year high of $126.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $111.16 and its 200-day moving average is $113.81. The company has a market cap of $452.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.60.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is 50.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,989,570. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XOM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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. Bernstein Bank upped their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.80.

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.