National Pension Service Decreases Position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

National Pension Service decreased its holdings in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 48.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,358,086 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,294,258 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.14% of Exelon worth $51,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXC. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Exelon by 1.0% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 28,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in Exelon by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in Exelon by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 9,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in Exelon by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 13,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in Exelon by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 18,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Guggenheim raised Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Exelon currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Exelon Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:EXC opened at $43.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.27. Exelon Co. has a 52 week low of $34.01 and a 52 week high of $44.32. The company has a market cap of $44.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

About Exelon

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.