Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Shares Down 1.4% - Should You Sell?

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) was down 1.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $105.80 and last traded at $106.84. Approximately 3,524,651 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 16,652,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XOM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised shares of Exxon Mobil to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $141.00 to $138.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Bernstein Bank boosted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, HSBC cut their price target on 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.50.

Exxon Mobil Stock Down 3.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $454.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $109.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

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 net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 12.92%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil's payout ratio is 50.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of Exxon Mobil 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,989,570. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,709,202 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $786,453,000 after buying an additional 521,932 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Passumpsic Savings Bank lifted its position in Exxon Mobil by 50.5% during the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 3,619 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group increased its position in Exxon Mobil by 3.0% in the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 43,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,123,000 after buying an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,949 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,518,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company's stock.

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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