Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 79,009 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 422,959 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 79,009 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Exelon were worth $16,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Exelon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Exelon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelon by 119.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,134.47. This 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 at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Exelon Stock Performance

EXC stock traded down $0.21 on Tuesday, reaching $46.65. 2,788,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,161,537. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $43.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.64. Exelon Co. has a 12 month low of $34.01 and a 12 month high of $48.11.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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 last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Exelon's payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on EXC. Barclays increased their price target 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. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and set a $48.00 target price (up from $46.00) on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.63.

Exelon 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.