Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Lowers Holdings in ExxonMobil Corporation $XOM

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. decreased its holdings in ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 187,209 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,612 shares during the period. ExxonMobil makes up approximately 1.1% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in ExxonMobil were worth $22,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in XOM. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 7.4% during 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 period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 218.4% during 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 buying an additional 2,546,791 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 105.4% during 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 buying an additional 1,501,235 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 119.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,672,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $301,310,000 after buying an additional 1,454,308 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of ExxonMobil by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,396,334 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,299,687,000 after buying an additional 886,087 shares during the period. 61.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on XOM shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of ExxonMobil from $171.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Loop Capital set a $123.00 target price on ExxonMobil in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on ExxonMobil from $128.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane set a $165.00 target price on ExxonMobil and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on ExxonMobil from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ExxonMobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.82, for a total value of $339,313.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 18,204 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,955.28. This represents a 10.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ExxonMobil News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ExxonMobil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil is reportedly in talks to acquire rights to produce oil in Venezuela, a potential reopening of a market it left roughly 20 years ago and had recently called “uninvestable,” which could add a meaningful long-term production opportunity if geopolitical conditions allow. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Exxon, QatarEnergy, and Egypt signed a preliminary agreement to study Cyprus gas development, reinforcing ExxonMobil’s LNG and gas growth strategy and its ability to monetize new discoveries through existing regional infrastructure. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary highlighted ExxonMobil’s resilience, pointing to its strong balance sheet, low debt, and ability to keep funding projects and dividends even when oil and gas prices fluctuate. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: ExxonMobil’s LNG footprint is expanding, with coverage noting rising power demand and additional export capacity as supportive of long-term growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical analysis suggests XOM is pulling back after a breakout and testing support levels, which leaves the near-term trend dependent on whether buyers defend those levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles on valuation, peer comparisons, and “top oil stock” watchlists may support investor interest, but they do not add a major new fundamental catalyst by themselves. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing governance and proxy-adviser conflict headlines, including Exxon’s fight with ISS and Glass Lewis, keep legal and boardroom friction in view and could weigh on sentiment if the dispute escalates. Article Title

ExxonMobil Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of ExxonMobil stock opened at $155.38 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $155.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.83. 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 twelve month low of $101.18 and a twelve month high of $176.41. The stock has a market cap of $644.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.19.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.18. ExxonMobil had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 10.24%. The firm had revenue of $83.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that ExxonMobil Corporation will post 11.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ExxonMobil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. ExxonMobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.48%.

ExxonMobil Profile

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.