Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases 461,828 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM - Free Report) by 1,494.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 492,735 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 461,828 shares during the period. Exxon Mobil comprises about 0.8% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $57,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.1% during the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Etfidea LLC raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Etfidea LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,543 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,207 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil by 15.2% in the second quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 660 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on XOM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $127.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America initiated coverage on Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $137.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Exxon Mobil from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.95.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

Shares of XOM traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $117.83. 12,684,365 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,233,689. The company has a market cap of $517.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company's 50-day moving average price is $119.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.55. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52-week low of $95.77 and a 52-week high of $126.34.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $90.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.98 billion. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 14.73% and a net margin of 9.61%. The firm's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.27 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. This is a boost from Exxon Mobil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Exxon Mobil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.32%.

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.