Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) Shares Acquired by Symmetry Partners LLC

Symmetry Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 617.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,083 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,701 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $1,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Exxon Mobil by 0.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 151,863,649 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,801,457,000 after buying an additional 395,218 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $10,777,735,000 after buying an additional 1,622,064 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position 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 buying an additional 5,538,694 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 worth $3,427,237,000 after buying an additional 700,415 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Exxon Mobil by 16.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,522,556 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,936,929,000 after buying an additional 4,415,012 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on XOM shares. HSBC lowered their price target on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bernstein Bank raised their price target on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.15.

Exxon Mobil Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:XOM opened at $115.40 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1-year low of $103.67 and a 1-year high of $126.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $500.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.59.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.51%.

Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.