Brown Advisory Inc. Acquires 12,368 Shares of ExxonMobil Corporation $XOM

Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,867,893 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,368 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in ExxonMobil were worth $224,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in ExxonMobil in the fourth quarter worth $7,625,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in ExxonMobil by 7.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,728,643 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,366,655,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660,910 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in ExxonMobil by 218.4% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,380,899 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $155,696,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546,791 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in ExxonMobil by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 15,997,332 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,925,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,465,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 334.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,062,497 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $368,541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,357,467 shares during the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XOM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $159.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $178.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of ExxonMobil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.55.

ExxonMobil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XOM opened at $146.80 on Friday. ExxonMobil Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.53 and a 1 year high of $176.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $152.09 and its 200 day moving average is $142.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $608.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.16.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.18. ExxonMobil had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 10.24%. The company had revenue of $83.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. ExxonMobil’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current year.

ExxonMobil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. ExxonMobil’s payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 1,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.50, for a total transaction of $167,940.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 17,124 shares in the company, valued at $2,662,782. The trade was a 5.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key ExxonMobil News

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for ExxonMobil, signaling confidence in the company’s profit outlook and providing a supportive fundamental backdrop for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that ExxonMobil is exploring potential acquisition targets, including Australia’s Woodside Energy Group, suggest management may be looking to expand its natural gas footprint and pursue growth through M&A. Article: Exxon Mobil evaluates potential buyout of Australia Woodside Energy, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary describing ExxonMobil as a “constructive” value idea, along with articles highlighting its low debt and ability to handle business uncertainty, points to continued appeal as a defensive energy name.
• Positive Sentiment: Broader energy stocks were higher late Friday, which likely lifted ExxonMobil along with the sector. Article: Sector Update: Energy Stocks Higher Late Afternoon
• Neutral Sentiment: Reuters and other outlets also reported that ExxonMobil’s head of global trading is set to retire, but the move looks more like a routine leadership change than a major business disruption. Article: Exxon Mobil set to place Alex Volkov as head of global trading, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles noting ExxonMobil’s strong one-year share gains may reinforce the stock’s valuation debate, but they are unlikely to be the main driver of near-term trading.
• Negative Sentiment: Exxon’s planned work at its Beaumont, Texas complex could create temporary operational noise, though the notice did not suggest a major outage or earnings issue. Article: Exxon plans work at Beaumont, Texas complex, says online notice

ExxonMobil Company Profile

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) is an integrated oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, production, refining, distribution and marketing of petroleum products and the manufacture and sale of petrochemicals. Its operations span the full energy value chain, including upstream exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas; midstream transportation and storage; and downstream refining, product distribution and retail. The company also produces a broad range of chemical products for industrial and consumer applications.

ExxonMobil markets fuels and lubricants under well-known brands such as Exxon, Mobil and Esso, and its Mobil 1 motor oil is a prominent consumer product.