Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Shares Sold by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Blueshift Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 34.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,792 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXC. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelon by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Exelon by 119.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelon has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.13.

Exelon Stock Performance

Shares of EXC opened at $43.80 on Friday. Exelon Co. has a 1 year low of $34.01 and a 1 year high of $45.20. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.95. The company has a market capitalization of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. 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 posted 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 9.52% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $59,353.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.