Avity Investment Management Inc. Trims Stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Avity Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $2,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in XOM. Next Level Private LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 47,801 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,603,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 31,219 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,659,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 112,869 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $13,230,000 after acquiring an additional 3,743 shares during the last quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 23,036 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,700,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 4,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of Exxon Mobil stock traded up $0.47 on Friday, hitting $123.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,294,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,737,104. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $487.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $116.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.32. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52-week low of $95.77 and a 52-week high of $126.34.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $93.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.09 billion. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 9.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 8.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on XOM. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $157.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.61.

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.