Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 863,326 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Exelon worth $32,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $479,597,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake 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 worth $238,608,000 after buying an additional 3,068,309 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exelon by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 127,335,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,792,903,000 after buying an additional 3,064,673 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in Exelon by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,174,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,390,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160,201 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Exelon by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,439,862,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,259 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exelon Stock Up 1.0 %

Exelon stock opened at $44.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.87. Exelon Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.01 and a fifty-two week high of $45.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.14.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Exelon presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.13.

Insider Activity at Exelon

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of Exelon stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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.

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.