Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC Takes $262,000 Position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,936,737,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Exxon Mobil by 14.4% during the 4th 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. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1,524.1% in the fourth 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. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $3,936,929,000 after purchasing an additional 4,415,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 13,899.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,812 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $131.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays cut their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $141.00 to $138.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, HSBC cut their target price on shares of 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 assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.50.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

XOM stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $108.44. The stock had a trading volume of 3,805,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,752,506. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.02. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52 week low of $97.80 and a 52 week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $469.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.61.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil's dividend payout ratio is 50.51%.

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.