Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires Shares of 75,020 Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 75,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,824,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Exelon by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,439,862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,259 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Exelon by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,945,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,048,823,000 after buying an additional 403,542 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Exelon by 18.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,782,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,782,000 after buying an additional 1,858,502 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Exelon by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,967,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,626,000 after buying an additional 160,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Exelon by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,729,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,280,000 after buying an additional 282,596 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim upgraded Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

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 shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $59,353.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXC opened at $44.44 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.88. Exelon Co. has a 52 week low of $34.01 and a 52 week high of $45.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. 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 (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced 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 period last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

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.