Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Shares Purchased by World Equity Group Inc.

World Equity Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,252 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,702 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Exelon were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in Exelon by 78.1% in the fourth 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. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Exelon in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Exelon by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of Exelon 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. The trade was a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exelon currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.38.

Exelon Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXC opened at $43.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.11. Exelon Co. has a 52 week low of $34.01 and a 52 week high of $43.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced 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 business posted $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. This is a boost from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.04%.

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.