Simplicity Solutions LLC Cuts Holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Simplicity Solutions LLC lessened its position in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 122,932 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,767 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $12,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Exxon Mobil by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,269,030 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $149,213,000 after purchasing an additional 575,649 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP grew its stake in Exxon Mobil by 34.3% during the third quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 4,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 87,926 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,791,000 after acquiring an additional 4,585 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 390,975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,971,000 after acquiring an additional 21,895 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 57,712 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,770,000 after acquiring an additional 5,043 shares in the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,169,845. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Exxon Mobil from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $116.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $126.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.44.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of Exxon Mobil stock opened at $119.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.48. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1 year low of $95.77 and a 1 year high of $123.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.12. The firm has a market cap of $473.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.96.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.28. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 18.51% and a net margin of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $84.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.40 earnings per share. Exxon Mobil’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.74%.

Exxon Mobil 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.