Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 1,056,525 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its position in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,730,256 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,056,525 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Exelon were worth $592,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,134.47. The trade was a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Exelon Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXC opened at $45.97 on Thursday. Exelon Co. has a twelve month low of $34.01 and a twelve month high of $46.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $46.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.27.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is a boost from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXC has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI raised Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.13.

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.