MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 5,117 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 200,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,117 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $23,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. PBMares Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.69.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $117.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $90.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Duke Energy 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.