Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 59,145 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,371 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $6,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on XOM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Argus upgraded Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. HSBC dropped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bernstein Bank boosted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $231,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of XOM stock opened at $115.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $500.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52-week low of $103.67 and a 52-week high of $126.34.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 9.63%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is 50.51%.

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.