Vertex Planning Partners LLC Buys 366 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,144 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Exxon Mobil by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,194,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,777,735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622,064 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter valued at $6,936,737,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,983,110 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,731,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538,694 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,860,532 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,427,237,000 after acquiring an additional 700,415 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 16.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,522,556 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,936,929,000 after acquiring an additional 4,415,012 shares during the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on XOM. Bernstein Bank upped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $141.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Exxon Mobil from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $231,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

NYSE XOM opened at $117.94 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $110.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.67. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52 week low of $103.67 and a 52 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $511.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 9.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is 50.51%.

Exxon Mobil Company Profile

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.