Northern Trust Corp Purchases 76,551 Shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO)

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Free Report) TSE: IMO by 64.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 195,132 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 76,551 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp's holdings in Imperial Oil were worth $12,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in Imperial Oil by 523.2% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 3,552 shares of the energy company's stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 2,982 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in Imperial Oil by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 27,000 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,664,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Imperial Oil by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 101,704 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,265,000 after buying an additional 1,654 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Imperial Oil by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 168,163 shares of the energy company's stock worth $10,345,000 after buying an additional 2,710 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis bought a new position in Imperial Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $190,000. 20.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Imperial Oil Price Performance

IMO stock traded down $0.84 during trading on Thursday, hitting $71.21. The company had a trading volume of 360,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,546. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $36.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.44. Imperial Oil Limited has a fifty-two week low of $58.76 and a fifty-two week high of $80.17.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.523 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $2.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Imperial Oil's payout ratio is currently 25.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Imperial Oil from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Scotiabank upgraded Imperial Oil to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded Imperial Oil from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.33.

Imperial Oil Company Profile

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.