North Star Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,259 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 3,831 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $2,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. now owns 437 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Stock Up 0.1%

XOM stock opened at $103.11 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $108.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.40. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 12 month low of $97.80 and a 12 month high of $126.34. The company has a market cap of $444.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $83.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.11 billion. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 12.92%. Exxon Mobil’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is currently 52.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on XOM. Barclays reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday. Bernstein Bank upped their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.50.

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.