Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,267 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,299 shares during the quarter. Exxon Mobil accounts for about 1.2% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $1,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in XOM. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Exxon Mobil by 67.8% in the second quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,479 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 2,214 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 8.5% in the second quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,946 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,526,000 after buying an additional 1,719 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 5,533 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 25.0% during the second quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 32,769 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after purchasing an additional 6,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,045,551 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $235,484,000 after purchasing an additional 403,727 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:XOM traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $113.85. The stock had a trading volume of 11,747,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,146,547. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.67. Exxon Mobil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $95.77 and a fifty-two week high of $123.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $448.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.91.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $93.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.09 billion. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 16.75%. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 8.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XOM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $139.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Exxon Mobil from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.56.

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.