Madison Asset Management LLC Acquires 84,129 Shares of ExxonMobil Corporation $XOM

Madison Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) by 60.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 222,970 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 84,129 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ExxonMobil were worth $26,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in ExxonMobil by 15.3% during the first quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of ExxonMobil in the 1st quarter valued at about $305,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in ExxonMobil by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,237 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,211,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. United Bank grew its position in ExxonMobil by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 21,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in ExxonMobil by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 36,710 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,957,000 after purchasing an additional 5,443 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,150 shares of ExxonMobil stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.82, for a total transaction of $339,313.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 18,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,872,955.28. This trade represents a 10.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key ExxonMobil News

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil is being highlighted as a blue-chip dividend stock, with UBS recently raising its price target and investors continuing to favor large integrated oil companies for income and stability.
• Positive Sentiment: Rising crude prices and fuel-market disruption tied to Middle East tensions could support ExxonMobil’s upstream earnings, while its large Beaumont refinery may benefit from cheaper domestic crude and wider refining margins.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary also points to ExxonMobil’s strong one-year rally and its scale in the Dow and global energy markets as evidence of durable investor appeal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some investors are questioning whether ExxonMobil is still a value buy after its strong run, noting that the stock has pulled back modestly from recent highs and may already reflect much of the good news.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s upcoming ex-dividend date may draw income investors, but it is more of a routine calendar event than a major fundamental catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Proxy adviser ISS recommended shareholders vote against ExxonMobil’s plan to move its registration to Texas, citing concerns that the change could make it harder for shareholders to hold directors and officers accountable.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on XOM. Wolfe Research lowered ExxonMobil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of ExxonMobil in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of ExxonMobil in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $178.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of ExxonMobil from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.95.

ExxonMobil Trading Up 0.6%

XOM opened at $150.59 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. ExxonMobil Corporation has a 52 week low of $101.18 and a 52 week high of $176.41. The stock has a market cap of $624.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $154.92 and a 200-day moving average of $136.80.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $83.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.13 billion. ExxonMobil had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 7.57%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ExxonMobil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. ExxonMobil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.48%.

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) is an integrated oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, production, refining, distribution and marketing of petroleum products and the manufacture and sale of petrochemicals. Its operations span the full energy value chain, including upstream exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas; midstream transportation and storage; and downstream refining, product distribution and retail. The company also produces a broad range of chemical products for industrial and consumer applications.

ExxonMobil markets fuels and lubricants under well-known brands such as Exxon, Mobil and Esso, and its Mobil 1 motor oil is a prominent consumer product.