Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 422,932 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,708,628 shares of the company’s stock after selling 422,932 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Exelon were worth $290,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 1.7% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. purchased a new stake in Exelon during the 3rd quarter valued at $229,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 320.1% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Exelon by 4.8% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 8,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 0.7% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,135,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,064,000 after purchasing an additional 8,007 shares in the last quarter. 80.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays boosted 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.13.

Exelon Stock Up 0.5 %

EXC opened at $44.25 on Friday. Exelon Co. has a 1-year low of $34.01 and a 1-year high of $45.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.09. 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 company has a market capitalization of $44.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.