State of Michigan Retirement System Grows Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 272,703 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Exelon were worth $10,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Exelon by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Exelon in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Exelon in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Exelon during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Exelon by 119.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

In other 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 value of $59,353.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EXC. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim raised Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

Exelon Stock Performance

Shares of EXC opened at $43.36 on Thursday. Exelon Co. has a one year low of $34.01 and a one year high of $45.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.52 and a 200 day moving average of $39.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.