Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,369,645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,096 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Exelon were worth $51,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EXC. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Exelon by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Exelon by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,604,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,306,000 after purchasing an additional 15,376 shares during the last quarter. Hartree Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter worth $1,995,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Exelon by 86.7% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,576,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,329,000 after buying an additional 732,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz SE purchased a new stake in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,953,000. 80.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelon Trading Up 1.0 %

EXC opened at $44.71 on Friday. Exelon Co. has a 52 week low of $34.01 and a 52 week high of $45.20. The company has a market capitalization of $45.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 2,271 shares in the company, 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 at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.