Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 48,431 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 722,481 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 48,431 shares during the period. Exxon Mobil accounts for about 0.5% of Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $77,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vertex Planning Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 9,451 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 14,537 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 8,582 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of Exxon Mobil stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $231,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,989,570. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Exxon Mobil stock opened at $109.06 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $109.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.80. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1 year low of $103.67 and a 1 year high of $126.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $473.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XOM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.25.

Exxon Mobil Company Profile

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.