Asset Dedication LLC Has $780,000 Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Asset Dedication LLC lowered its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,860 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 40,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,908,000 after acquiring an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 21,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,035,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at about $208,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $119.80 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $114.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.40. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $85.79 and a twelve month high of $120.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $92.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp increased their price target on Duke Energy from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

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.