Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Trims Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lessened its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 407,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,822 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $43,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $111.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $109.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.94. The company has a market capitalization of $86.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Duke Energy

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.