Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,652,866 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 56,336 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $715,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 0.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 151,863,649 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,801,457,000 after purchasing an additional 395,218 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.8% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 16.3% in 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 buying an additional 4,415,012 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,160,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,652,589,000 after buying an additional 146,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Exxon Mobil by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 29,197,557 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,422,538,000 after buying an additional 949,875 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE XOM opened at $110.30 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $484.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $108.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.53. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 12 month low of $102.64 and a 12 month high of $126.34.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. HSBC decreased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.25.

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.