Imperial Oil Limited $IMO Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd sold 30,200 shares of Imperial Oil Limited, reducing its stake by 59.1% and leaving it with 20,908 shares valued at approximately $1.5 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Imperial Oil, with one upgrade to "strong-buy" from Zacks Research and various other ratings ranging from "hold" to "sell."
• Imperial Oil announced a quarterly dividend of $0.72, increasing from the previous dividend of $0.52, resulting in an annual yield of 3.3%.

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Free Report) TSE: IMO by 59.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,908 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 30,200 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Imperial Oil were worth $1,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Imperial Oil by 273.2% during the first quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 658,949 shares of the energy company's stock worth $47,607,000 after buying an additional 482,393 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 1,233.1% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 498,056 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $35,983,000 after buying an additional 460,696 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Imperial Oil during the fourth quarter valued at about $19,507,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 54.7% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 690,024 shares of the energy company's stock worth $49,842,000 after purchasing an additional 243,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Imperial Oil during the first quarter worth about $13,673,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on IMO. Wolfe Research cut shares of Imperial Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Imperial Oil from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Desjardins lowered shares of Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Imperial Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.50.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

IMO traded down $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $90.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 316,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 348,587. The business's 50-day moving average price is $85.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.96. Imperial Oil Limited has a 12 month low of $58.76 and a 12 month high of $92.33. The stock has a market cap of $45.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This is an increase from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.56%.

About Imperial Oil

Imperial Oil Limited engages in exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Chemical segments. The Upstream segment explores and produces crude oil, natural gas, synthetic crude oil, and bitumen. The Downstream segment transports and refines crude oil, blends refined products, and distributes and markets of refined products.