Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Sells 8,657 Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc decreased its stake in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,285 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,657 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Exelon were worth $2,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Exelon by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 217,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,201,000 after purchasing an additional 14,158 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Exelon by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,624,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,158,000 after buying an additional 279,827 shares during the last quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Exelon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,274,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Exelon by 3.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,159,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,029,000 after buying an additional 36,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Exelon by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 22,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Stock Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ EXC opened at $46.00 on Monday. Exelon Co. has a 12 month low of $34.01 and a 12 month high of $48.11. 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 stock has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $43.81 and its 200 day moving average is $40.59.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Research 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Insider Transactions at Exelon

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,134.47. The trade was a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.