Welch Group LLC Decreases Stock Position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Welch Group LLC trimmed its position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 512,125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,628 shares during the period. Exxon Mobil comprises about 2.4% of Welch Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $54,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vertex Planning Partners LLC grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 3.1% in the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 0.9% in the third quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 9,451 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 0.7% in the third quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 13,378 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,568,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 0.6% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XOM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Mizuho reduced their target price on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.25.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XOM opened at $108.87 on Friday. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1-year low of $100.42 and a 1-year high of $126.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $109.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.89.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued 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 last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.65 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.