Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 29.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,846,000 after purchasing an additional 442,302 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $922,529,000 after buying an additional 135,665 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,111,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,520,000 after buying an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $116.78 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.25. The company has a market capitalization of $90.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.