Plato Investment Management Ltd Trims Holdings in Exxon Mobil Corporation $XOM

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd sold 4,302 shares of Exxon Mobil Corporation, reducing its stake by 5.5%, and now holds 74,367 shares valued at approximately $8.94 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Exxon Mobil, with price targets ranging from $124 to $143, reflecting a consensus target price of $125 and an overall average rating of "Hold."
• Exxon Mobil recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.99 per share, representing a 3.6% yield, with a payout ratio of 56.25%.

Plato Investment Management Ltd reduced its position in shares of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,367 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 4,302 shares during the period. Exxon Mobil makes up approximately 0.8% of Plato Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $8,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 570,158 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $61,332,000 after purchasing an additional 110,772 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 6.7% during the first quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 21,929 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Trust raised its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 12.7% during the first quarter. Legacy Trust now owns 8,861 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 51.8% during the first quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 7,665 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $912,000 after buying an additional 2,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 23.9% during the first quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 97,050 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $11,561,000 after buying an additional 18,752 shares in the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $127.00 price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $134.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $124.81.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

NYSE:XOM traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $112.26. 11,532,749 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,239,243. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $110.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.14. Exxon Mobil Corporation has a 1 year low of $97.80 and a 1 year high of $126.34. The company has a market cap of $478.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Exxon Mobil's dividend payout ratio is 56.25%.

Insider Transactions at Exxon Mobil

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total value of $238,351.10. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 13,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,413.05. This represents a 13.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Exxon Mobil Profile

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.