Baird Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Exxon Mobil Corporation $XOM

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Exxon Mobil Corporation by 1.9%, selling 26,361 shares to end with 1,365,891 shares valued at approximately $162 million.
• Exxon Mobil recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.99 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $3.96 and a yield of 3.5%.
• Analysts have given Exxon Mobil a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $125.00, amid mixed reviews from various research firms.

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,365,891 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 26,361 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $162,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 570,158 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $61,332,000 after purchasing an additional 110,772 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC increased its stake in Exxon Mobil by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 21,929 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,608,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Legacy Trust increased its stake in Exxon Mobil by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Trust now owns 8,861 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,054,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the period. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its stake in Exxon Mobil by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 7,665 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 2,617 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,158 shares of Exxon Mobil 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 sale, the vice president owned 13,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,413.05. This trade represents a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XOM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $125.00.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of Exxon Mobil stock traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $114.28. 14,596,397 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,404,174. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.00. Exxon Mobil Corporation has a 12-month low of $97.80 and a 12-month high of $126.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $487.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $81.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.07 billion. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 9.17%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Corporation will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Exxon Mobil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.25%.

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.