Waddell & Associates LLC Buys 2,718 Shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Waddell & Associates LLC increased its stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM - Free Report) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,942 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,718 shares during the quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC's holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $1,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 93,299,598 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $10,023,875,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104,617 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,936,737,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Exxon Mobil by 14.4% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 5,538,694 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 35,662,602 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,836,226,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,860,532 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,427,237,000 after buying an additional 700,415 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on XOM shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $123.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of Exxon Mobil to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $131.00 to $129.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $117.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exxon Mobil presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.95.

Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

XOM traded up $3.12 on Friday, hitting $103.05. The company had a trading volume of 22,869,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,983,226. The stock has a market cap of $445.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company's fifty day moving average price is $110.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.19. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 1-year low of $97.80 and a 1-year high of $126.34.

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

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

Insider Transactions at Exxon Mobil

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $231,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,989,570. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.