Morgan Stanley Lowers Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Price Target to $138.00

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $141.00 to $138.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

XOM has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bernstein Bank increased their price target on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $117.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Exxon Mobil from $132.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, HSBC dropped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.05.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

NYSE:XOM opened at $117.66 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $510.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $110.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.71. Exxon Mobil has a fifty-two week low of $103.67 and a fifty-two week high of $126.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Analysts expect that Exxon Mobil will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 8.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. United Bank grew its position in 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 buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the third quarter valued at $671,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,139,855 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $250,834,000 after acquiring an additional 87,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Noesis Capital Mangement Corp boosted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 7,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $863,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% 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.