Barclays PLC Sells 1,722,800 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Barclays PLC decreased its stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,534,736 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,722,800 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.35% of Exelon worth $143,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Exelon by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Exelon by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 28,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC boosted its stake in Exelon by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 14,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Exelon by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Exelon in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Exelon from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Exelon from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.25.

Exelon Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXC opened at $37.32 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.32 and its 200-day moving average is $37.87. Exelon Co. has a 1-year low of $33.35 and a 1-year high of $41.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $37.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.54.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. Exelon had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 9.47%. Exelon’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.55%.

Exelon 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.