Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 1,136,954 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 25.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,573,740 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,136,954 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.55% of Exelon worth $209,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Exelon by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 217,868 shares of the company's stock worth $8,201,000 after acquiring an additional 14,158 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,624,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,158,000 after purchasing an additional 279,827 shares during the last quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,274,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,159,783 shares of the company's stock worth $47,029,000 after buying an additional 36,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 22,612 shares of the company's stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 2,160 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EXC shares. Barclays upped their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim set a $47.00 price target on shares of Exelon and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelon currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.78.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the business'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 directly owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,134.47. The trade was a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Exelon Price Performance

Exelon stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.22. 6,269,631 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,264,982. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.03. The company has a market cap of $46.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $34.01 and a twelve 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 (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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon's payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

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.