Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Increases Position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,505 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on XOM. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised shares of Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.25.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

NYSE:XOM opened at $111.33 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $483.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.31. Exxon Mobil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $104.03 and a fifty-two week high of $126.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $108.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.20.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.51%.

Insider Transactions at Exxon Mobil

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $231,000.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.