Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Has $6.28 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC cut its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 99.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 58,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,719,670 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up approximately 2.1% of Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,846,000 after purchasing an additional 442,302 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Duke Energy by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $264,111,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,537,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,858,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,243,000 after acquiring an additional 48,447 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of DUK stock opened at $116.26 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $109.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $89.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.