Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Has $616,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lessened its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 23.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,735 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. SpiderRock Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.5% during the third quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 15,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,791,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 20.9% during the third quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 7,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 18,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,189,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $116.78 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $92.75 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $111.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.26. The stock has a market cap of $90.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.57.

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.