Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,452 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,796 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,452 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exelon by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelon in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Exelon during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Exelon by 119.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on EXC shares. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelon currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

Exelon Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ EXC opened at $43.11 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.49. Exelon Co. has a 12 month low of $34.01 and a 12 month high of $45.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.