Assetmark Inc. Has $4.12 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 107.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 38,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,792 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.3% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 960,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $110,709,000 after acquiring an additional 37,453 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,846,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $251,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

DUK stock opened at $116.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $92.75 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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 return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on DUK. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on 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 upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently 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.