Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Down 1% Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Exxon Mobil shares fell 1% after VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,158 shares at an average price of $110.45, significantly impacting trading volume, which dropped 89% from its average.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings for Exxon Mobil, with TD Cowen and UBS Group raising their price targets to $128.00 and $143.00, respectively.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.99 per share with a yield of 3.6%, highlighting continued profitability despite a decline in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) shares traded down 1% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $110.86 and last traded at $110.59. 1,813,649 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 16,594,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.74.

Specifically, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total transaction of $238,351.10. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 13,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,413.05. The trade was a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Exxon Mobil from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $127.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $125.00.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $110.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.91. The company has a market capitalization of $471.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.53.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $81.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.07 billion. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 11.34%. Exxon Mobil's quarterly revenue was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Corporation will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Exxon Mobil's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.25%.

Institutional Trading of Exxon Mobil

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,660,000. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 26.0% during the second quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,284 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,049,000 after buying an additional 5,828 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC increased its stake in Exxon Mobil by 14.2% during the second quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC now owns 33,176 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,576,000 after acquiring an additional 4,136 shares during the period. Carter Financial Group INC. bought a new position in Exxon Mobil during the second quarter valued at about $1,175,000. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Exxon Mobil by 99.7% during the second quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,892 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 7,936 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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