Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Up 3.5% – Here’s What Happened

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) was up 3.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $106.99 and last traded at $107.84. Approximately 4,276,262 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 15,922,823 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XOM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Exxon Mobil from $141.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.75.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $466.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $110.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.97.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.77 by ($0.10). Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 9.63%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is 50.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exxon Mobil

In related 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 value of $231,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,936,737,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 14,242.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,457,554 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,124,787,000 after acquiring an additional 9,391,614 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,983,110 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,731,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538,694 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 1,524.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,445,922 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $585,818,000 after purchasing an additional 5,110,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Exxon Mobil by 16.3% in the third 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% 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.