Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 10,087 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 216,106 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,087 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Exelon were worth $8,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in shares of Exelon by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 9,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 13,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in Exelon by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 18,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Exelon by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of EXC opened at $43.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.87. Exelon Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.01 and a fifty-two week high of $45.19.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelon

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the 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 owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by 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.