Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 687,692 Shares of Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its stake in Exelon Corporation by 22.4%, selling 687,692 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with approximately 2.38 million shares valued at $109.83 million.
• Multiple large investors, including Vanguard Group and Price T Rowe Associates, have increased their holdings in Exelon, showcasing strong institutional interest in the company.
• Exelon recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.6% and a payout ratio of 60.84%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC - Free Report) by 22.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,384,935 shares of the company's stock after selling 687,692 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.24% of Exelon worth $109,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXC. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position in shares of Exelon by 354.9% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 193,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,911,000 after acquiring an additional 150,876 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Exelon by 3.6% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 294,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,587,000 after acquiring an additional 10,176 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Exelon by 14.9% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 485,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,393,000 after acquiring an additional 63,009 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelon in the first quarter valued at about $6,795,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Exelon by 141.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 269,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,400,000 after acquiring an additional 157,548 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company's stock.

Exelon Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of EXC traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.65. The company had a trading volume of 6,822,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,099,713. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.91. Exelon Corporation has a 52 week low of $35.94 and a 52 week high of $48.11. The company has a market capitalization of $45.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.38.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.02. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $5.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Exelon Corporation will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Exelon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Exelon's payout ratio is currently 60.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EXC. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Exelon from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Exelon from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Exelon from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Exelon from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Exelon from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.20.

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.