Balentine LLC Lowers Holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Balentine LLC reduced its position in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,694 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,080 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $1,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $3,936,929,000 after purchasing an additional 4,415,012 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Exxon Mobil by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,160,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,652,589,000 after purchasing an additional 146,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 3.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 29,197,557 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,422,538,000 after purchasing an additional 949,875 shares in the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of XOM stock opened at $108.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 12-month low of $100.60 and a 12-month high of $126.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $108.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.78. The company has a market capitalization of $475.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.89.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. HSBC reduced their price target on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bernstein Bank upped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.25.

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.