Norges Bank Buys Shares of 12,741,690 Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,741,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $479,597,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.27% of Exelon as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in Exelon by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 119.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company's stock.

Exelon Stock Up 0.2 %

Exelon stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.02. The company had a trading volume of 2,846,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,845,793. 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 1 year low of $34.01 and a 1 year high of $46.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.75 and a 200 day moving average of $40.23. The stock has a market cap of $46.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

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Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors 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 an increase from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Exelon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of Exelon stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim upgraded Exelon from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.