Aviva PLC Cuts Stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Aviva PLC lessened its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,378,103 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,921 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $51,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Exelon by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 217,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,201,000 after purchasing an additional 14,158 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Exelon by 20.8% in the 4th 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. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelon during the fourth quarter worth about $2,274,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelon by 110.9% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 59,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,423,000 after buying an additional 31,415 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,159,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,029,000 after buying an additional 36,734 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Price Performance

EXC stock opened at $45.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.35. The company has a market capitalization of $45.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. Exelon Co. has a twelve month low of $34.01 and a twelve month high of $48.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. This is a boost from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on EXC. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim raised Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelon has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.13.

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 value of $59,353.91. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Company Profile

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.