Photo: Flickr.com/Mike Mozart

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil is the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas company.  ExxonMobil is involved in all aspects of the oil and gas industry, including the discovery and development of oil and natural gas fields, the refining of oil and natural gas into gasoline and other fuels, lubricants and other products, and the production of value-added products such as specialty chemicals. ExxonMobil’s history traces back to the formation of Standard Oil Company in 1870 and operates under multiple brand names, including Exxon, Esso and Mobil.

The company is a member of the S&P 500 index and trades under the ticker symbol XOM.

ExxonMobil’s Dividend and Stock Split History

ExxonMobil has paid dividends each year since 1911 and increased its annual dividend since 1983.  The company met the Dividend Aristocrat criteria of 25 consecutive years of regular dividend increases in 2007.  ExxonMobil traditionally announces annual dividend increases in April, with the stock going ex-dividend in May.

ExxonMobil has compounded its payout at an average rate of 7.0% over the last 5 years and 8.4% over the last 10 years.

ExxonMobil has split its stock many times during the company’s history.  Since the merger of Exxon Corporation with Mobil Oil Corporation in 1999, ExxonMobil has split its stock once, 2-for-1 in June 2001.  A full listing of stock splits for Exxon, Mobil and XTO Energy (which merged with ExxonMobil in June 2010) is available on the ExxonMobil website under “Stock Information”.

ExxonMobil’s Direct Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plans

ExxonMobil has both direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans.  The terms and fees of ExxonMobil’s plans are very friendly to investors, as the company will pay all fees and commissions associated with stock purchases either directly or through the dividend reinvestment plan.  Unlike many other direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans, there isn’t any setup fee for ExxonMobil’s plans.

If you’re interested in directly purchasing ExxonMobil stock, the minimum purchase is $250 for the initial purchase and $50 for subsequent purchases.  When you sell your shares, you’ll pay a fee of $15 or $25 (depending on the type of sell order) plus 12 cents per share.  As a participant in the plan, you can minimize sales fees by selling shares in larger quantities.

Helpful Links

ExxonMobil’s Investor Relations Website

Current quote and financial summary for ExxonMobil (finviz.com)

Information on the direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans for XOM