ING Groep NV Acquires 355,721 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

ING Groep NV grew its position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 2,081.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 372,814 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 355,721 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in Exelon were worth $14,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EXC. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Exelon by 49.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 201,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,161,000 after buying an additional 66,287 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.5% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,533 shares of the company's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 6.3% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Exelon by 6.5% during the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,595 shares of the company's stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Exelon by 4.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 57,661 shares of the company's stock worth $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EXC. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exelon from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,134.47. The trade was a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Exelon Stock Performance

Exelon stock traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $44.14. The stock had a trading volume of 3,903,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,032,482. The company has a market cap of $44.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Exelon Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.01 and a fifty-two week high of $44.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.15.

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

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is a boost from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Exelon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.