Heartland Advisors Inc. Has $11.27 Million Holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Heartland Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 299,305 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,192 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Exelon were worth $11,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of Exelon stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,134.47. This trade represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Exelon Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of EXC stock opened at $44.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.40 and a 200-day moving average of $40.09. Exelon Co. has a 52-week low of $34.01 and a 52-week high of $45.20. The stock has a market cap of $44.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business earned $0.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Exelon Co. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim raised Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Exelon from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of 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 report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.13.

Exelon Company 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.