Willis Investment Counsel Raises Position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Willis Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) by 0.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 236,842 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Exxon Mobil comprises about 1.6% of Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $25,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil in the first quarter worth $25,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 58.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XOM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $131.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $145.00 to $127.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $110.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $135.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.78.

Insider Activity at Exxon Mobil

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $172,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 27,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,193,780. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $172,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 27,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,193,780. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey W. Ubben purchased 458,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $106.93 per share, for a total transaction of $48,973,940.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,635,000 shares in the company, valued at $174,830,550. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Exxon Mobil stock opened at $117.69 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $108.65 and its 200 day moving average is $108.49. The company has a market capitalization of $471.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.08. Exxon Mobil Co. has a twelve month low of $83.89 and a twelve month high of $119.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The oil and gas company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.06). Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 13.72% and a return on equity of 25.82%. The company had revenue of $82.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.14 earnings per share. Exxon Mobil’s revenue was down 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 15th. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is 29.12%.

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.