Rockland Trust Co. Has $256,000 Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Rockland Trust Co. trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 32.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,156 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at about $166,263,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,769,000 after acquiring an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $106.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $82.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

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.