Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,647 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 1,619 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Imperial Oil were worth $13,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IMO. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,933,627 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,598,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331,235 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 8.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,420,002 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $311,175,000 after buying an additional 341,689 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Imperial Oil by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,796,660 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $258,817,000 after acquiring an additional 412,600 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Imperial Oil by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,107,250 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $148,235,000 after acquiring an additional 187,158 shares during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in Imperial Oil by 10,896.4% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 867,174 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $59,135,000 after acquiring an additional 859,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

Imperial Oil Trading Down 1.2 %

IMO stock opened at $61.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Imperial Oil Limited has a 52-week low of $54.58 and a 52-week high of $80.17. The company has a market cap of $31.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 1.42.

Imperial Oil Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.4304 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is 26.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Imperial Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.00.

Imperial Oil 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.