Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Holdings Cut by Nicolet Advisory Services LLC

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 576 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,949,857,000 after buying an additional 124,863 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after acquiring an additional 385,612 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,529,000 after acquiring an additional 135,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Duke Energy by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,368,000 after acquiring an additional 561,784 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $118.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $92.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $116.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.88. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

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.