Financial Counselors Inc. Cuts Position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Financial Counselors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,938 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Exelon were worth $2,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in Exelon by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 35,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exelon by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 5,070 shares during the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Haverford Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Exelon by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Exelon by 110.7% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,503,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,414 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exelon Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXC opened at $44.25 on Friday. Exelon Co. has a 1 year low of $34.01 and a 1 year high of $45.20. The company has a market capitalization of $44.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.09. 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 posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelon

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EXC shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.13.

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.