Cornell University Makes New Investment in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Cornell University bought a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 799,840 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,984,000. Exxon Mobil accounts for about 68.3% of Cornell University’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 145,199,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,072,534,000 after acquiring an additional 4,162,149 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 2.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 53,828,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,329,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,937 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,696,758 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,137,865,000 after acquiring an additional 576,078 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 10,882,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,088,077,000 after acquiring an additional 132,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 15.8% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 9,197,103 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,081,395,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252,505 shares during the last quarter. 61.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exxon Mobil Stock Up 0.4 %

XOM stock opened at $121.05 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $112.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.41. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 12 month low of $95.77 and a 12 month high of $123.75. The company has a market cap of $479.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $84.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.03 billion. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 18.51%. Exxon Mobil’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Exxon Mobil’s payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,169,845. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on XOM shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $126.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.28.

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.