Bank of Nova Scotia reduces stake in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM)

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM – Free Report) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The company owned 1,134,970 shares of the oil and gas company after selling 155,660 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $113,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently changed their holdings in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,054 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 34.3% in the third quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 4,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 87,926 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,791,000 after purchasing an additional 4,585 shares in the last quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the fourth quarter valued at about $378,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 225.7% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 68,400 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,839,000 after purchasing an additional 47,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the company's stock.

Exxon Mobil trading rises 2.9%

NYSE:XOM shares rose $3.27 on Friday, reaching $117.26. 29,037,378 shares of the company traded hands, compared to an average volume of 16,682,006. The company's 50-day moving average is $117.84 and its 200-day moving average is $108.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $462.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.96. Exxon Mobil Co. has a 12-month low of $95.77 and a 12-month high of $123.75.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26. The oil and gas company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.06 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.19 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $83.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.69 billion. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 16.75%. Exxon Mobil's quarterly revenue declined 4.0% year-over-year. During the same period last year, the company generated earnings per share of $2.83. Analysts expect Exxon Mobil Co. to report earnings per share of $9.57 for the current fiscal year.

Exxon Mobil announces dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will receive a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents an annualized dividend of $3.80 and a yield of 3.24%. Exxon Mobil's payout ratio is currently 46.57%.

Insiders place their bets

In other Exxon Mobil news, Vice President Darrin L. Talley sold 2,426 shares of the company's stock on Monday, April 29. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total value of $288,718.26. Following the completion of the sale, the Vice President now directly owns 25,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,018,450.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.03% of the shares are currently owned by company insiders.

Upgrades and downgrades by analysts

Several equities analysts have commented on XOM shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Exxon Mobil in a report on Wednesday, May 15. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $114.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $138.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a “hold” rating and eleven have given a “buy” rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “moderate buy” and a consensus price target of $135.00.

Read our latest report on XOM

Exxon Mobil company profile

(Free report)

Exxon Mobil Corporation is engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. The company operates in the Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products and Specialty Products segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas.

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