Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stake Trimmed by ProVise Management Group LLC

ProVise Management Group LLC lowered its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,517 shares during the quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 110,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,869,000 after purchasing an additional 4,278 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 14,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,472,000 after acquiring an additional 3,201 shares in the last quarter. Kennondale Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,386,000. Finally, PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in Duke Energy by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 3,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

DUK opened at $120.85 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $113.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.57. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $121.47. 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 firm has a market cap of $93.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.