Machina Capital S.A.S. Grows Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 43.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,758 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,157 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Exelon were worth $1,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in Exelon by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Exelon in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exelon by 119.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on EXC. Guggenheim raised Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelon

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of EXC opened at $43.11 on Friday. Exelon Co. has a twelve month low of $34.01 and a twelve month high of $45.19. The stock has a market cap of $43.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.49.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. This is a boost from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s payout ratio 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.