Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,652,866 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 56,336 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of Exxon Mobil worth $715,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Exxon Mobil in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XOM has been the subject of several research reports. Argus raised Exxon Mobil to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bernstein Bank boosted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exxon Mobil

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 18,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,989,570. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Exxon Mobil Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE XOM traded down $1.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $110.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,684,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,759,757. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 52 week low of $102.88 and a 52 week high of $126.34. The stock has a market cap of $487.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.89.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 period last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Exxon Mobil's payout ratio is currently 50.51%.

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.