Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 12,741,690 Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 12,741,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,597,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.27% of Exelon as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EXC. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in shares of Exelon by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in Exelon by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 9,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in Exelon by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 13,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in Exelon by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 18,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Exelon

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $59,353.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of EXC opened at $44.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.13. Exelon Co. has a 1-year low of $34.01 and a 1-year high of $45.20. The company has a market cap of $45.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. 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 3.58%. Exelon’s payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EXC. Evercore ISI raised shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelon 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.