Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Sells 287 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,441 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 287 shares during the period. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of XOM. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 14,537 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 8,582 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cadent Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC now owns 37,372 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,020,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Argus raised Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Exxon Mobil from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. HSBC decreased their target price on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exxon Mobil

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at $1,989,570. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of XOM opened at $113.79 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 12 month low of $103.67 and a 12 month high of $126.34. The company has a market cap of $493.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 12.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is 50.51%.

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.