Mizuho Securities USA LLC Grows Stock Position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 46.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 95,235 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,390 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Exelon were worth $3,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Exelon by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 16.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 11,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its stake in Exelon by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 49,290 shares of the company's stock worth $1,999,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Exelon by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,415 shares of the company's stock worth $2,977,000 after buying an additional 6,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in Exelon by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 21,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $859,000 after buying an additional 838 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Exelon Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXC traded up $0.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $44.25. 7,009,399 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,274,243. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $42.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.06. Exelon Co. has a 12-month low of $34.01 and a 12-month high of $45.20. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $44.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors 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 yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EXC. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised their target price 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, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.13.

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.