Neuberger Berman Group LLC Decreases Position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 82.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 92,487 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429,299 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $3,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Exelon Stock Performance

Shares of EXC stock opened at $46.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.59. Exelon Co. has a one year low of $34.01 and a one year high of $48.11.

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

Exelon Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on EXC. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelon currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.13.

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.