Welch & Forbes LLC Raises Stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Welch & Forbes LLC grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM – Get Rating) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 336,564 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,220 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $29,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in XOM. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 17.4% during the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 7,909 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Retirement Income Solutions Inc purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the first quarter worth about $275,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. LP lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 318.8% in the first quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. LP now owns 17,163 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 13,065 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 95.6% in the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 15,843 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 7,744 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the first quarter worth about $237,000. 57.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:XOM opened at $113.15 on Friday. Exxon Mobil Co. has a twelve month low of $69.81 and a twelve month high of $114.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $109.55 and its 200 day moving average is $99.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $465.98 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.11.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 28th. The oil and gas company reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.88 by $0.57. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The company had revenue of $112.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Exxon Mobil’s quarterly revenue was up 51.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 15th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 14th. This is an increase from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is 29.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.47, for a total value of $276,175.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,801,850.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $98.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 22nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $131.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 19th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Exxon Mobil from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $111.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.41.

Exxon Mobil Company Profile

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Exxon Mobil Corporation explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Downstream, and Chemical segments. The company is also involved in the manufacture, trade, transport, and sale of crude oil, natural gas, petroleum products, petrochemicals, and other specialty products; manufactures and sells petrochemicals, including olefins, polyolefins, aromatics, and various other petrochemicals; and captures and stores carbon, hydrogen, and biofuels.