Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $12.50 Million Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 332,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,955 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $12,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Exelon by 109.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,884,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,608,000 after acquiring an additional 3,068,309 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Exelon by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,174,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,390,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160,201 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,439,862,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,259 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Exelon by 418.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,501,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,152,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelon by 18.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,782,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858,502 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Trading Up 0.1 %

EXC opened at $44.42 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.59 and its 200-day moving average is $39.84. Exelon Co. has a 1-year low of $34.01 and a 1-year high of $45.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market cap of $44.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Exelon had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 9.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Insider Activity at Exelon

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 shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $59,353.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelon has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

Exelon 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.