Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stake in Imperial Oil Limited $IMO

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its Imperial Oil stake by 14.2% in the first quarter, selling 9,706 shares and leaving it with 58,542 shares worth about $7.67 million.
• Imperial Oil shares were trading down about 0.9% at $122.52, with a market cap of $59.25 billion and a dividend yield of 2.8%.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: recent rating changes left Imperial Oil with an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $116, with half the analysts rating it Sell and half Hold.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Free Report) TSE: IMO by 14.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,542 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 9,706 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Imperial Oil were worth $7,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Imperial Oil by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Imperial Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 531 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Imperial Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. 20.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Imperial Oil Trading Down 0.9%

IMO opened at $122.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $122.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.18. Imperial Oil Limited has a one year low of $80.95 and a one year high of $139.44. The stock has a market cap of $59.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90 and a beta of 0.45.

Imperial Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Imperial Oil's payout ratio is presently 38.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IMO. Zacks Research downgraded Imperial Oil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Imperial Capital reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Securities reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Imperial Oil to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $116.00.

About Imperial Oil

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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