New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 34,000 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 732,985 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Exelon were worth $27,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Davidson Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 377,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,222,000 after buying an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 30,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 6,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 438.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 4,745 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 322,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,141,000 after buying an additional 12,308 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on EXC shares. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Exelon from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.38.

Exelon Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXC opened at $43.39 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.41 and a 200-day moving average of $39.09. The company has a market capitalization of $43.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.56. Exelon Co. has a 52 week low of $34.01 and a 52 week high of $43.69. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.