Macquarie Group Ltd. Decreases Stake in ExxonMobil Corporation $XOM

Macquarie Group Ltd. reduced its position in ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) by 50.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,496,066 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,539,006 shares during the period. ExxonMobil makes up approximately 0.8% of Macquarie Group Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Macquarie Group Ltd.’s holdings in ExxonMobil were worth $180,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in ExxonMobil in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,625,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in ExxonMobil by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,728,643 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,366,655,000 after buying an additional 2,660,910 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 218.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,380,899 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $155,696,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546,791 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 105.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,925,026 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $329,797,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ExxonMobil in the 4th quarter valued at about $138,732,000. 61.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of ExxonMobil from $186.00 to $182.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of ExxonMobil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of ExxonMobil from $128.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of ExxonMobil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of ExxonMobil from $175.00 to $172.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 1,080 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.50, for a total transaction of $167,940.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 17,124 shares in the company, valued at $2,662,782. This represents a 5.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ExxonMobil News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for ExxonMobil, signaling confidence in the company’s profit outlook and providing a supportive fundamental backdrop for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that ExxonMobil is exploring potential acquisition targets, including Australia’s Woodside Energy Group, suggest management may be looking to expand its natural gas footprint and pursue growth through M&A. Article: Exxon Mobil evaluates potential buyout of Australia Woodside Energy, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary describing ExxonMobil as a “constructive” value idea, along with articles highlighting its low debt and ability to handle business uncertainty, points to continued appeal as a defensive energy name.
• Positive Sentiment: Broader energy stocks were higher late Friday, which likely lifted ExxonMobil along with the sector. Article: Sector Update: Energy Stocks Higher Late Afternoon
• Neutral Sentiment: Reuters and other outlets also reported that ExxonMobil’s head of global trading is set to retire, but the move looks more like a routine leadership change than a major business disruption. Article: Exxon Mobil set to place Alex Volkov as head of global trading, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles noting ExxonMobil’s strong one-year share gains may reinforce the stock’s valuation debate, but they are unlikely to be the main driver of near-term trading.
• Negative Sentiment: Exxon’s planned work at its Beaumont, Texas complex could create temporary operational noise, though the notice did not suggest a major outage or earnings issue. Article: Exxon plans work at Beaumont, Texas complex, says online notice

ExxonMobil Stock Performance

Shares of ExxonMobil stock opened at $146.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $608.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.16. ExxonMobil Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.53 and a 1 year high of $176.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.04.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $83.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.13 billion. ExxonMobil had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 10.24%. ExxonMobil’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 11.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ExxonMobil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. ExxonMobil’s dividend payout ratio is 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.