Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 645,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,283,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.06% of Exelon as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Exelon in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Exelon by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 85,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Exelon by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 40,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 7,894 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Exelon during the 3rd quarter worth $376,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Exelon by 6.5% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 44,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718 shares during the period. 80.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Exelon

In other news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,271 shares in the company, valued at $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Exelon Stock Performance

Shares of EXC opened at $47.26 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $34.01 and a 52-week high of $48.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.81. The company has a market capitalization of $47.71 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.39.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Exelon’s payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EXC shares. UBS Group raised 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 boosted their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Exelon from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.63.

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.