Welch Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Welch Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 527,239 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 15,114 shares during the quarter. Exxon Mobil accounts for about 2.7% of Welch Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $62,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth about $789,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 143,807 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $16,857,000 after purchasing an additional 21,391 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 61,159 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,597,000 after purchasing an additional 2,175 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 11,482 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 1,842 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth $48,348,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on XOM. Bernstein Bank raised their target price on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $131.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Argus raised shares of Exxon Mobil to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Exxon Mobil from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Exxon Mobil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $125.50.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of XOM traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $102.08. 28,636,718 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,602,445. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.78. The company has a market cap of $439.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.51. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52-week low of $97.80 and a 52-week high of $126.34.

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

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Exxon Mobil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.52%.

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.