Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Stock Holdings Lessened by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,826,355 shares of the company’s stock after selling 141,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Exelon worth $106,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 217,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,201,000 after acquiring an additional 14,158 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings 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 worth $61,158,000 after acquiring an additional 279,827 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 431.3% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 395,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,051,000 after acquiring an additional 321,333 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,446,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,402,000 after acquiring an additional 123,466 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,439,862,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,259 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EXC. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Stock Performance

EXC opened at $44.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.73. Exelon Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.01 and a fifty-two week high of $45.20.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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 last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

Exelon 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.