Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 28,670 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,740,975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 28,670 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.18% of Exxon Mobil worth $832,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,194,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,777,735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622,064 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,936,737,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Exxon Mobil by 14.4% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 5,538,694 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Exxon Mobil by 2.2% during 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 buying an additional 700,415 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 16.3% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 4,415,012 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $132.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. 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. Mizuho cut their price target on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Argus upgraded Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.05.

Insider Transactions at Exxon Mobil

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $231,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at $1,989,570. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:XOM opened at $117.66 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization 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. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1-year low of $103.67 and a 1-year high of $126.34. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

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 return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 9.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

Exxon Mobil 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.