Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Trading Down 0.2% After Insider Selling

Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) dropped 0.2% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $109.10 and last traded at $109.77. Approximately 2,612,243 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 14,759,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.96.

Specifically, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the company’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 owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on XOM. Bernstein Bank boosted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.25.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $109.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $478.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in XOM. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 151,863,649 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,801,457,000 after purchasing an additional 395,218 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,194,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,777,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622,064 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 14.4% during 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 buying an additional 5,538,694 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 700,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,415,012 shares during the last quarter. 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.