Welch & Forbes LLC Trims Stock Position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 321,026 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,337 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $32,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of XOM. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the third quarter valued at about $91,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the third quarter worth $92,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth $80,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 851.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 885 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 118.5% in the third quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 968 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE XOM traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $116.72. The company had a trading volume of 31,394,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,695,932. The stock has a market cap of $460.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 12 month low of $95.77 and a 12 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 the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.83 EPS. Exxon Mobil’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC raised their target price on Exxon Mobil from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Exxon Mobil from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Exxon Mobil from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $114.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.06.

Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil

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

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.