Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 216,106 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,087 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Exelon were worth $8,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Exelon during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Exelon in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EXC. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.13.

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Exelon Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXC opened at $43.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. Exelon Co. has a 12-month low of $34.01 and a 12-month high of $45.19. 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 - Get Free Report) 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 will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. This is a boost from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon's payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

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.

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