Mizuho Securities USA LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 44.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 416,555 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 128,461 shares during the quarter. Exxon Mobil comprises 0.8% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $44,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of XOM. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 8.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,709,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $786,453,000 after buying an additional 521,932 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.7% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 17,920 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 8.2% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 52,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,118,000 after buying an additional 3,977 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 4.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 335,319 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,306,000 after buying an additional 13,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Exxon Mobil by 3.2% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 61,484 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on XOM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Exxon Mobil from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Exxon Mobil from $132.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.15.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Exxon Mobil stock opened at $115.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $500.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $110.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.58. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52 week low of $103.67 and a 52 week high of $126.34. 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 (NYSE:XOM) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently 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.