Plato Investment Management Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 104.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,574 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,978 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Exelon were worth $2,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EXC. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 170,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,908,000 after acquiring an additional 2,505 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exelon by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exelon by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 17,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,080 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exelon by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 123,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,002,000 after purchasing an additional 3,045 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Exelon by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 28,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelon Price Performance

Exelon stock opened at $44.55 on Tuesday. Exelon Co. has a 52-week low of $34.01 and a 52-week high of $44.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its 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 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Insider Activity at Exelon

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Evercore ISI upgraded 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 research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

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.