Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 60,391 Shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO - Free Report) TSE: IMO by 56.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 46,840 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 60,391 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.'s holdings in Imperial Oil were worth $2,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Imperial Oil by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 945,002 shares of the energy company's stock worth $58,212,000 after buying an additional 212,707 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Imperial Oil in the fourth quarter worth $10,890,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Imperial Oil in the fourth quarter worth about $7,982,000. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Imperial Oil by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,825,945 shares of the energy company's stock worth $297,268,000 after purchasing an additional 105,970 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Canada LTD. boosted its stake in Imperial Oil by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 247,769 shares of the energy company's stock worth $15,260,000 after acquiring an additional 101,056 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on IMO shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Raymond James raised shares of Imperial Oil from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Imperial Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Imperial Oil from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Imperial Oil from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.33.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

Shares of IMO traded up $1.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $63.70. The stock had a trading volume of 664,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,339. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Imperial Oil Limited has a 12 month low of $58.76 and a 12 month high of $80.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.87.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.4972 dividend. This represents a $1.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Imperial Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Imperial Oil's dividend payout ratio is 25.80%.

Imperial Oil Company Profile

Imperial Oil Limited engages in exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Chemical segments. The Upstream segment explores and produces crude oil, natural gas, synthetic crude oil, and bitumen. The Downstream segment transports and refines crude oil, blends refined products, and distributes and markets of refined products.