Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,314,296 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 368,505 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.62% of Exelon worth $988,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Exelon by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 217,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,201,000 after buying an additional 14,158 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Exelon by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,624,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,158,000 after acquiring an additional 279,827 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Exelon by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,439,862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,259 shares in the last quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,274,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Exelon by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 59,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 31,415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total transaction of $59,353.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Exelon Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXC opened at $45.97 on Thursday. Exelon Co. has a twelve month low of $34.01 and a twelve month high of $46.47. The company has a market capitalization of $46.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.27.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued 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 prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors 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 3.48%. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EXC. Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Four 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.