Marshall Wace LLP Makes New Investment in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO) (TSE:IMO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 10,203 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $629,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IMO. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Imperial Oil by 27.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,838 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Imperial Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at $137,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Imperial Oil by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,474 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 3,261 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Imperial Oil by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,647 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $13,502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Imperial Oil by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 17,579 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 4,119 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Imperial Oil from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Imperial Oil from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Imperial Oil from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Imperial Oil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.33.

Imperial Oil Stock Performance

Shares of IMO opened at $68.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Imperial Oil Limited has a 12-month low of $58.76 and a 12-month high of $80.17. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 1.44.

Imperial Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.4972 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Imperial Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Imperial Oil’s payout ratio is 25.80%.

Imperial Oil Company Profile

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.