Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM - Free Report) by 16.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,522,556 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,415,012 shares during the period. Exxon Mobil comprises about 1.1% of Franklin Resources Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.72% of Exxon Mobil worth $3,936,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 360.0% in the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 918.9% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 377 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Exxon Mobil in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 61.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on XOM. TD Cowen raised their price target on Exxon Mobil from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $118.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $137.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $128.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.84.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

XOM stock traded down $0.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $110.84. The company had a trading volume of 12,186,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,294,633. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $119.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.40. Exxon Mobil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $95.77 and a fifty-two week high of $126.34. The company has a market cap of $487.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.01. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 14.73%. The business had revenue of $90.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.27 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.99 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. This is a boost from Exxon Mobil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Exxon Mobil's payout ratio is 49.32%.

Exxon Mobil Company 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.