Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its stake in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) by 56.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,840 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 60,391 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Imperial Oil were worth $2,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Imperial Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Imperial Oil in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Imperial Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Imperial Oil by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,630 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Imperial Oil in the 3rd quarter worth about $137,000. 20.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on IMO. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Imperial Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James upgraded Imperial Oil from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Imperial Oil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.33.

Imperial Oil Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN IMO opened at $60.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $68.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.93. The company has a market cap of $31.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 1.44. Imperial Oil Limited has a 12-month low of $58.76 and a 12-month high of $80.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.4972 per share. This is an increase from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Imperial Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.80%.

About Imperial Oil

Imperial Oil Limited engages in exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Chemical segments. The Upstream segment explores and produces crude oil, natural gas, synthetic crude oil, and bitumen. The Downstream segment transports and refines crude oil, blends refined products, and distributes and markets of refined products.