Kestra Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Kestra Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 74.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,332 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,967 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Exelon by 109.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,884,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,608,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068,309 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Exelon by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,439,862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,259 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Exelon by 418.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,501,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,604 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Exelon by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,782,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Exelon by 212.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,903,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,753 shares during the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelon Stock Performance

Shares of Exelon stock opened at $43.39 on Friday. Exelon Co. has a 52 week low of $34.01 and a 52 week high of $43.69. The company has a market capitalization of $43.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. This is a boost from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EXC shares. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim raised Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on Exelon from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Company Profile

Exelon Corporation, a utility services holding company, engages in the energy distribution and transmission businesses in the United States and Canada. The company is involved in the purchase and regulated retail sale of electricity and natural gas, transmission and distribution of electricity, and distribution of natural gas to retail customers.