Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Position in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,264,413 shares of the company’s stock after selling 499,545 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Exelon were worth $235,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in Exelon by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Exelon during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Exelon in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelon by 119.6% in the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelon

In other Exelon news, EVP Colette D. Honorable sold 1,463 shares of the 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 owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,134.47. This represents a 39.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Stock Down 0.3 %

EXC opened at $45.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. 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’s fifty day moving average is $42.75 and its 200 day moving average is $40.23. Exelon Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.01 and a fifty-two week high of $46.28.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. This is an increase from Exelon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Exelon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim raised Exelon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelon in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank upped 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. Barclays increased their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Exelon from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelon currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.