Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

XOM has been the topic of several other reports. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.25.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of XOM traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $108.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,043,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,547,446. 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 has a one year low of $100.42 and a one year high of $126.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $478.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.89. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $109.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.97.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Exxon Mobil will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. Exxon Mobil's payout ratio is presently 50.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exxon Mobil

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,989,570. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 0.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 151,863,649 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $17,801,457,000 after acquiring an additional 395,218 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 92,194,981 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $10,777,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622,064 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 14.4% during the fourth 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,860,532 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,427,237,000 after purchasing an additional 700,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 16.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,415,012 shares in the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.