Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 4,300 Shares of ExxonMobil Corporation $XOM

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 211,592 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,300 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in ExxonMobil were worth $25,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ExxonMobil in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ExxonMobil in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of ExxonMobil by 456.1% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 228 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of ExxonMobil in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in ExxonMobil in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on XOM shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $171.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $172.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ExxonMobil in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $195.00 to $182.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.70.

ExxonMobil Stock Up 0.5%

XOM stock opened at $141.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $587.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. ExxonMobil Corporation has a 12 month low of $105.53 and a 12 month high of $176.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $151.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.92.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $83.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.13 billion. ExxonMobil had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 10.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ExxonMobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. ExxonMobil’s dividend payout ratio is 69.48%.

Key ExxonMobil News

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America upgraded ExxonMobil from neutral to buy and set a $154 price target, saying the shares look undervalued after the recent pullback. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Exxon filed for a 35-well exploration campaign in Guyana’s Stabroek block, reinforcing growth potential in one of its most important long-term assets. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media reports continue to highlight Exxon as a possible acquisition player, including speculation around Woodside Energy, but nothing has been confirmed. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader energy stocks are weaker pre-market, which adds sector-wide pressure on XOM even as the stock draws positive analyst commentary. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Lower crude prices are the main headwind, since a sustained move below $80 could reduce ExxonMobil’s earnings power and slow investor enthusiasm for its upstream growth story. Article Title

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.