Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Shares Sold by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC decreased its position in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,220,464 shares of the company's stock after selling 314,272 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.32% of Exelon worth $121,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 78.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Exelon by 119.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm'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 value of $59,353.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EXC. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and set a $48.00 price target (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.63.

Exelon Stock Performance

Exelon stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.26. The company had a trading volume of 7,496,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,228,455. The company has a market capitalization of $47.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. Exelon Co. has a 12-month low of $34.01 and a 12-month high of $48.11. The company's fifty day moving average is $44.35 and its 200-day moving average is $40.81. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is a boost from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

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.