QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 295,443 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,966 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Exelon were worth $11,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EXC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Exelon by 109.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,884,282 shares of the company's stock worth $238,608,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068,309 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company's stock worth $2,439,862,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,259 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Exelon by 418.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,501,392 shares of the company's stock worth $94,152,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,604 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Exelon by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,782,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 212.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,903,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,753 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company's stock.

Exelon Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of EXC traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.20. The stock had a trading volume of 12,319,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,400,085. The company has a market cap of $44.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $40.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.35. Exelon Co. has a 1-year low of $34.01 and a 1-year high of $44.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Exelon's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Exelon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on EXC. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exelon from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim raised shares of Exelon from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.