Neuberger Berman Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 82.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,487 shares of the company's stock after selling 429,299 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC's holdings in Exelon were worth $3,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EXC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Exelon by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 127,335,351 shares of the company's stock worth $4,792,903,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064,673 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Exelon by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,314,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $988,080,000 after buying an additional 368,505 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Exelon by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,306,652 shares of the company's stock worth $651,422,000 after acquiring an additional 5,524,103 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Exelon by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,718,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $516,374,000 after acquiring an additional 2,817,174 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Exelon during the fourth quarter valued at about $479,597,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the company'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 transaction of $59,353.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Exelon Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXC traded up $1.18 during trading on Thursday, reaching $47.69. 3,001,100 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,378,692. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.72. Exelon Co. has a 52-week low of $34.01 and a 52-week high of $48.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. 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 (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Exelon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on EXC shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and set a $48.00 price objective (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exelon has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.63.

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.