Westchester Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Westchester Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 121,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the quarter. Exxon Mobil makes up 3.3% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $13,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 151,863,649 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,801,457,000 after buying an additional 395,218 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,194,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,777,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622,064 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,983,110 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,731,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,538,694 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,860,532 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,427,237,000 after purchasing an additional 700,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 16.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,415,012 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Exxon Mobil

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $231,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XOM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $132.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.25.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:XOM opened at $109.06 on Wednesday. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 12 month low of $103.67 and a 12 month high of $126.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $109.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.80. The company has a market cap of $473.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 12.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.63%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.51%.

Exxon Mobil Company 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.