Prudential PLC Sells 7,631 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Prudential PLC decreased its stake in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,582 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,631 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $4,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EXC. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Exelon in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Exelon in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Exelon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in Exelon by 119.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXC opened at $45.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $34.01 and a 1 year high of $48.11.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on EXC. Guggenheim raised Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank increased 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exelon 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 value of $59,353.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.