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

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 420,429 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 23,647 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Exelon were worth $15,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EXC. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Exelon by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 863,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,496,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Exelon in the 4th quarter valued at $3,314,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Exelon during the 4th quarter worth about $479,597,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new position in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,283,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Stock Performance

Shares of EXC stock opened at $44.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.87. Exelon Co. has a 52 week low of $34.01 and a 52 week high of $45.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.13.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on EXC. Scotiabank increased their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Exelon currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.