Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 115.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,051 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 121,201 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $26,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter worth $5,519,753,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 16,399.4% in the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 12,616,904 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,466,589,000 after acquiring an additional 12,540,435 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 566.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,197,713 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,319,507,000 after acquiring an additional 11,216,602 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,511,952 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,197,989,000 after purchasing an additional 5,523,429 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,161,783 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,249,607,000 after purchasing an additional 2,676,652 shares during the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exxon Mobil Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE XOM opened at $116.32 on Friday. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 12-month low of $95.77 and a 12-month high of $123.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $458.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on XOM shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $146.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.56.

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.