DnB Asset Management AS Purchases 23,647 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 420,429 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,647 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Exelon were worth $15,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Exelon by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 863,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,496,000 after buying an additional 3,306 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelon during the fourth quarter worth $3,314,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter valued at $479,597,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Exelon by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 42,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in Exelon in the 4th quarter worth about $4,283,000. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exelon Stock Performance

EXC stock opened at $44.71 on Friday. Exelon Co. has a 1-year low of $34.01 and a 1-year high of $45.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.13. The firm has a market cap of $45.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid 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 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXC has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.13.

About Exelon

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.