Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) Shares Acquired by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,969 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,621 shares during the quarter. Exxon Mobil comprises approximately 1.2% of Essex Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $11,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 145,199,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,072,534,000 after buying an additional 4,162,149 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 2.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 53,828,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,329,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,937 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,696,758 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,137,865,000 after purchasing an additional 576,078 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 10,882,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,088,077,000 after purchasing an additional 132,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,197,103 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,081,395,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on XOM shares. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Monday, February 5th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $114.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.56.

Exxon Mobil Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of XOM stock traded down $2.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $116.20. The company had a trading volume of 13,911,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,175,145. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.79. The company has a market capitalization of $459.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.38. Exxon Mobil Co. has a twelve month low of $95.77 and a twelve month high of $123.75.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.13). Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 9.62%. The firm had revenue of $83.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exxon Mobil

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,169,845. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,169,845. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total value of $288,718.26. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,018,450.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.