Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Stock Position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 882,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,246 shares during the period. Exelon comprises about 0.7% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned about 0.09% of Exelon worth $33,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 buying an additional 2,156,259 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Exelon by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,945,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,048,823,000 after purchasing an additional 403,542 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Exelon by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,782,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858,502 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Exelon by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,967,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,626,000 after purchasing an additional 160,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Exelon by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,729,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,280,000 after purchasing an additional 282,596 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelon Stock Up 0.1 %

EXC opened at $44.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.84. The company has a market cap of $44.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. Exelon Co. has a 1 year low of $34.01 and a 1 year high of $45.20. 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 (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelon 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 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 $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 is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.