J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Takes Position in Imperial Oil Limited $IMO

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin acquired a new stake of 26,600 shares in Imperial Oil (IMO) during Q4, valued at about $2.30 million.
• Imperial Oil raised its quarterly dividend to $0.87 (annualized $3.48) for a yield of roughly 2.7%, with record date March 5 and payment on April 1.
• Analyst sentiment is tilted negative: MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target of $116 after several recent downgrades (one Strong Buy, three Hold, five Sell).

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Free Report) TSE: IMO during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 26,600 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $2,301,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of IMO. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Imperial Oil by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 426 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the energy company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 737.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 511 shares of the energy company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Imperial Oil during the 3rd quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc boosted its position in Imperial Oil by 66.8% during the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 934 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.74% of the company's stock.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Imperial Oil stock opened at $130.82 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $117.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.56 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Imperial Oil Limited has a 52 week low of $58.76 and a 52 week high of $133.10.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Imperial Oil from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $116.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. TD Securities reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Imperial Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Imperial Oil currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $116.00.

Imperial Oil Company Profile

Imperial Oil NYSEAMERICAN: IMO is a Canadian integrated energy company involved in the exploration, production, refining and marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Imperial has operated in Canada for well over a century and is one of the country's long-standing energy firms. The company is majority-owned by Exxon Mobil Corporation, which provides strategic and technical links to global upstream and downstream capabilities.

Imperial's operations span upstream activities—exploration and production of crude oil, natural gas and oil-sands resources—and downstream operations including refining, manufacturing of fuels and lubricants, petrochemical products, and retail distribution.

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