Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM)

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 121,947 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 53% compared to the average volume of 79,515 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maple Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,406 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,832,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc now owns 559 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil in the 1st quarter valued at about $135,000. Finally, Cim LLC lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Cim LLC now owns 27,962 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,326,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank cut their price target on Exxon Mobil from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho cut their target price on Exxon Mobil from $129.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Exxon Mobil from $141.00 to $138.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.50.

Exxon Mobil Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE XOM traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $112.48. The stock had a trading volume of 22,874,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,720,447. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $484.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.49. The business's fifty day moving average price is $105.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.62. Exxon Mobil has a 52-week low of $97.80 and a 52-week high of $126.34.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $83.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.11 billion. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 12.92%. Exxon Mobil's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Exxon Mobil will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Exxon Mobil's payout ratio 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.