Alliancebernstein L.P. Trims Position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its position in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,249,298 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,643 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.12% of Exelon worth $47,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter worth about $479,597,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Exelon by 109.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,884,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,608,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068,309 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Exelon by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 127,335,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,792,903,000 after buying an additional 3,064,673 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Exelon by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,174,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,390,000 after buying an additional 2,160,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,439,862,000 after buying an additional 2,156,259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of Exelon stock opened at $45.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.35. Exelon Co. has a one year low of $34.01 and a one year high of $48.11. The stock has a market cap of $45.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. 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 (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued 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 $45.13.

Insider Activity at Exelon

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of Exelon stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,134.47. The trade was a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.