Ascent Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 4,817 Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Ascent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,817 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $518,000. Exxon Mobil comprises about 0.5% of Ascent Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 951 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth about $4,653,000. Choate Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 119,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,844,000 after acquiring an additional 6,717 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Group Corp acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter valued at about $260,000. Finally, Harbour Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investment Management LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

XOM stock opened at $111.98 on Friday. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1-year low of $103.67 and a 1-year high of $126.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $109.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.65. The firm has a market cap of $485.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is 50.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XOM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Exxon Mobil from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of Exxon Mobil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.