First Financial Group Corp Invests $260,000 in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

First Financial Group Corp purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,412 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 8.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,709,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $786,453,000 after buying an additional 521,932 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 3.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 17,920 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 1.8% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 75,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,832,000 after buying an additional 1,368 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 1.5% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,765,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $206,929,000 after buying an additional 26,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 43.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 630,247 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $73,877,000 after buying an additional 190,005 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of XOM opened at $111.98 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $109.34 and its 200-day moving average is $113.68. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 12 month low of $103.67 and a 12 month high of $126.34. The firm has a market cap of $485.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83. 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 (NYSE:XOM) last posted its 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 net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 12.92%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value 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 $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on XOM shares. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Argus upgraded Exxon Mobil to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.25.

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.