Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) Shares Sold by Appleton Partners Inc. MA

Appleton Partners Inc. MA cut its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,183 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $3,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.8% during the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 50,331 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,899,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Alken Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $105,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 10,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837 shares during the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 207,398 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $24,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thomasville National Bank lifted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 193,895 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $22,728,000 after purchasing an additional 7,222 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XOM opened at $110.98 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $487.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $109.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.97. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1-year low of $100.42 and a 1-year high of $126.34.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share 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 company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.37 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on XOM shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.25.

Insider Transactions at Exxon Mobil

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