Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 1,817,852 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 21.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,763,958 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,817,852 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Exelon were worth $282,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EXC. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Exelon by 70.5% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 18,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 7,713 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exelon by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 44,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after buying an additional 2,718 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Exelon in the third quarter worth $376,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Exelon by 24.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 40,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,565,000 after acquiring an additional 7,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Exelon by 3.1% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 85,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,451,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EXC shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Exelon in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.42.

Exelon Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ EXC opened at $36.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.86. Exelon Co. has a one year low of $33.35 and a one year high of $41.42. The company has a market capitalization of $37.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. Exelon had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 9.47%. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. Exelon’s payout ratio is 62.55%.

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.