Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,978,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,646,544 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Exelon were worth $488,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXC. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in Exelon by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Exelon in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Exelon in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake 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 period. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.13.

Exelon Price Performance

NASDAQ EXC opened at $44.69 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.40. The stock has a market cap of $45.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Exelon Co. has a 52 week low of $34.01 and a 52 week high of $48.11.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted 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 net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 9.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.