Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC cut its stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 0.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 32,693 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 239 shares during the quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $3,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Exxon Mobil by 532.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 16,815,314 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,935,779,000 after purchasing an additional 14,158,054 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 2nd quarter valued at about $980,210,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 7,761.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,893,677 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $808,077,000 after buying an additional 6,805,982 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,794,077 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,235,972,000 after acquiring an additional 5,330,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Exxon Mobil by 19.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 32,308,002 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,719,296,000 after acquiring an additional 5,235,607 shares during the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exxon Mobil Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of XOM opened at $117.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $518.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.90. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52 week low of $95.77 and a 52 week high of $126.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $119.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $90.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.98 billion. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 14.73%. The business’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.27 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.94 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.99 dividend. This is a boost from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is presently 49.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $157.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Exxon Mobil from $118.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $127.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.95.

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.