Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,549 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,012 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Exelon were worth $134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EXC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Exelon during the fourth quarter valued at $479,597,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Exelon by 109.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,884,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,608,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068,309 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,064,673 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Exelon by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,174,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,390,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160,201 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 418.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,501,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,152,000 after buying an additional 2,018,604 shares during the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on EXC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised 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, Guggenheim raised Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.13.

Exelon Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXC 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. Exelon Co. has a 12-month low of $34.01 and a 12-month high of $48.11. 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 data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelon

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.