Howard Financial Services LTD. Trims Stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Howard Financial Services LTD. lessened its stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM - Free Report) by 15.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,756 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 3,664 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD.'s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $2,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in XOM. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Exxon Mobil stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $102.08. The stock had a trading volume of 28,636,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,602,441. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's 50 day moving average is $106.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.78. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1 year low of $97.80 and a 1 year high of $126.34. The stock has a market cap of $439.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.51.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.03. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 9.63%. The company had revenue of $83.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Exxon Mobil's payout ratio is currently 52.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on XOM. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $129.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bernstein Bank raised their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $141.00 to $138.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $125.50.

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.