Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 863,326 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Exelon were worth $32,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of Exelon by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in Exelon by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 9,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in Exelon by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 13,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in Exelon by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 18,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exelon Stock Performance

Shares of EXC opened at $44.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.87. Exelon Co. has a 1 year low of $34.01 and a 1 year high of $45.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $42.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.14.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business earned $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is 65.31%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.13.

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.