Korea Investment CORP Cuts Stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Korea Investment CORP lessened its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,398,047 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 193,131 shares during the quarter. Exxon Mobil makes up about 0.9% of Korea Investment CORP’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $365,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Exxon Mobil by 8.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,709,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $786,453,000 after purchasing an additional 521,932 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 17,920 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,101,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,262,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 111,476 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $13,067,000 after acquiring an additional 38,104 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.9% during the third quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 50,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,897,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $132.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.15.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of Exxon Mobil stock opened at $118.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $512.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $110.49 and a 200-day moving average of $113.64. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52-week low of $103.67 and a 52-week high of $126.34. 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 (NYSE:XOM) last posted its quarterly 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.