Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Position Lifted by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,400,110 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 81,652 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.24% of Exelon worth $90,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXC. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Exelon during the third quarter valued at $204,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Exelon by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 85,600 shares of the company's stock worth $3,451,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Exelon by 24.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 40,438 shares of the company's stock worth $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 7,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Exelon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $376,000. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXC traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.22. 3,589,365 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,353,925. 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 stock has a market cap of $47.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.85. Exelon Co. has a twelve month low of $34.01 and a twelve month high of $48.11.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Exelon's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and set a $48.00 price target (up from $46.00) on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Exelon presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.63.

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.