Sterling Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Sterling Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 63.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 13,853 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of XOM. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 10.7% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 47,195 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,532,000 after acquiring an additional 4,578 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 133,140 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $15,607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,985 shares during the period. Helen Stephens Group LLC grew its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Helen Stephens Group LLC now owns 41,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,825 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 36.8% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 25,127 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 6,753 shares during the period. Finally, Parthenon LLC raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 2.4% in the third quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 191,590 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $22,458,000 after buying an additional 4,445 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Exxon Mobil stock opened at $108.64 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $111.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.41. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52-week low of $99.61 and a 52-week high of $126.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $477.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.91.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.01. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. This is a boost from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on XOM. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $118.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.84.

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.