Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 6,096 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,369,645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,096 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Exelon worth $51,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EXC. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Exelon during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in Exelon by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Exelon in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Exelon by 119.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exelon Stock Performance

EXC stock opened at $44.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.14. Exelon Co. has a 12-month low of $34.01 and a 12-month high of $45.20. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.57, for a total value of $59,353.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EXC shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.13.

Exelon Company 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.