National Pension Service Has $51.12 Million Stock Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

National Pension Service lessened its holdings in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 48.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,358,086 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,294,258 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Exelon were worth $51,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EXC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,068,309 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $2,439,862,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,259 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Exelon by 418.1% in the 4th 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. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Exelon by 18.7% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Exelon by 212.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,903,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EXC. Guggenheim raised Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Scotiabank increased their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Exelon Stock Performance

EXC stock opened at $43.84 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.99 and its 200-day moving average is $39.27. 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 $44.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56. Exelon Co. has a twelve month low of $34.01 and a twelve month high of $44.32.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This is an increase 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 other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of Exelon stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $59,353.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.