Sterling Financial Planning Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,713 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 491 shares during the quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $937,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exxon Mobil

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $231,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,989,570. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on XOM shares. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. HSBC decreased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.25.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

NYSE XOM opened at $110.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $480.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.89. Exxon Mobil Co. has a twelve month low of $102.88 and a twelve month high of $126.34. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $108.60 and a 200 day moving average of $114.49.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by ($0.10). Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 12.92%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

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.