Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Price Target Lowered to $138.00 at Morgan Stanley

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $141.00 to $138.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on XOM. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bernstein Bank lifted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.05.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of XOM opened at $117.94 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $511.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83. Exxon Mobil has a 52-week low of $103.67 and a 52-week high of $126.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by ($0.10). Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 12.92%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Exxon Mobil will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is 50.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $231,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,989,570. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exxon Mobil

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of XOM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter valued at $6,936,737,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 43,983,110 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,731,263,000 after buying an additional 5,538,694 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1,524.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,445,922 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $585,818,000 after buying an additional 5,110,603 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Exxon Mobil by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,522,556 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,936,929,000 after acquiring an additional 4,415,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 46,017,358 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,950,087,000 after acquiring an additional 2,998,892 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

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.