RWC Asset Management LLP Increases Stake in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

RWC Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 106.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,326,843 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,199,068 shares during the quarter. Exelon accounts for about 4.4% of RWC Asset Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. RWC Asset Management LLP owned about 0.23% of Exelon worth $87,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Exelon by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 217,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,201,000 after purchasing an additional 14,158 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Exelon by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,624,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,158,000 after acquiring an additional 279,827 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Exelon by 431.3% in the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 395,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,051,000 after acquiring an additional 321,333 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,446,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,402,000 after acquiring an additional 123,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,439,862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,259 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EXC. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Exelon from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim upgraded Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI raised 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Exelon from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Five research 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.38.

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of EXC stock opened at $43.39 on Monday. Exelon Co. has a twelve month low of $34.01 and a twelve month high of $43.69. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $39.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.56.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 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 3.69%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.04%.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

In other Exelon 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 value of $59,353.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.