Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Holdings Decreased by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership trimmed its position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 72.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 727,542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,928,583 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Exelon were worth $27,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exelon by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Exelon by 119.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Exelon

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction 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 approximately $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Exelon Trading Up 0.1 %

EXC opened at $45.97 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.27. The company has a market cap of $46.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. Exelon Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.01 and a fifty-two week high of $46.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Exelon’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on EXC shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelon presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.