Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 888,253 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 32.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,835,266 shares of the company’s stock after selling 888,253 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $69,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Exelon by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 217,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,201,000 after buying an additional 14,158 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Exelon by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,624,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,158,000 after buying an additional 279,827 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Exelon by 431.3% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 395,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,051,000 after purchasing an additional 321,333 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Exelon by 2.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,446,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,402,000 after purchasing an additional 123,466 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Exelon by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,439,862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,259 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exelon Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXC opened at $43.35 on Tuesday. Exelon Co. has a 52 week low of $34.01 and a 52 week high of $44.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.15. 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 company has a market cap of $43.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company posted $0.60 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. This is a boost from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelon

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim raised Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Exelon from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.38.

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.