Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Shares Sold by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lessened its position in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 72.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 727,542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,928,583 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.07% of Exelon worth $27,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Exelon by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 16,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,208 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 4.2% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 46,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Exelon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,328,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Exelon by 18.5% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 17,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 2,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Exelon by 465.2% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 214,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,693,000 after buying an additional 176,450 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on EXC. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. 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. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.13.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

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 transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXC opened at $45.97 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Exelon Co. has a twelve month low of $34.01 and a twelve month high of $46.47.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS 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 earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. 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.