Aviance Capital Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,491 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares during the quarter. Exxon Mobil accounts for 1.0% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $6,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. First Heartland Consultants Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 9,451 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 14,537 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,743,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 8,582 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was 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 directly owns 18,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,989,570. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Exxon Mobil Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:XOM opened at $109.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $473.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G 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 1 year low of $103.67 and a 1 year high of $126.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.87.

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 (EPS) 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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XOM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bernstein Bank boosted their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Exxon Mobil from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.25.

About Exxon Mobil

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.