Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 313,499 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,565 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Exelon were worth $11,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in Exelon by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelon in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Exelon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Exelon by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $59,353.91. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Exelon from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.38.

Exelon Stock Down 0.3 %

EXC stock opened at $42.85 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.93. The company has a market cap of $43.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.56. Exelon Co. has a 12-month low of $34.01 and a 12-month high of $43.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.47% and a net margin of 10.60%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Exelon’s 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.