Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Purchases 220 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. increased its position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,305 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Exxon Mobil comprises approximately 1.0% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $4,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XOM. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1,524.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,445,922 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $585,818,000 after purchasing an additional 5,110,603 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 16.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,522,556 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,936,929,000 after purchasing an additional 4,415,012 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 11,131.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,792,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $192,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,194,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,777,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622,064 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of XOM stock opened at $110.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $108.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.31. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52-week low of $104.00 and a 52-week high of $126.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $477.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.89.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on XOM shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $132.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of Exxon Mobil 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,989,570. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.