Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Acquires 57,111 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 80.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 128,029 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 57,111 shares during the quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC's holdings in Exelon were worth $4,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EXC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,068,309 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings 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 period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 418.1% in 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 increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,782,549 shares of the company's stock worth $477,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858,502 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 212.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,903,482 shares of the company's stock worth $71,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,753 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exelon Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of EXC traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.20. The stock had a trading volume of 12,319,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,400,085. Exelon Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.01 and a fifty-two week high of $44.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.32. The firm has a market cap of $44.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Exelon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Exelon from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.