Private Advisor Group LLC Purchases 6,900 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,561 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Exelon were worth $2,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Exelon by 1.0% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 28,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,457 shares of the company's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,922 shares of the company's stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in shares of Exelon by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 9,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Exelon by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 13,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exelon Price Performance

NASDAQ EXC traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.20. 12,319,511 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,390,274. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $44.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.99 and a 200-day moving average of $39.27. Exelon Co. has a one year low of $34.01 and a one year high of $44.46.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Exelon's payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelon

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. The trade was a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI upgraded Exelon from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.13.

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.