Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Sells 253 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,671 shares of the company’s stock after selling 253 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EXC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Exelon by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,159,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,029,000 after purchasing an additional 36,734 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in shares of Exelon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $367,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $578,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Exelon by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Exelon by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 39,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 11,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Exelon from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

Exelon Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXC opened at $43.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $43.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.60. Exelon Co. has a one year low of $34.01 and a one year high of $45.19.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earned $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

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.