Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 68.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the quarter. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,016,846,000 after acquiring an additional 442,302 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,111,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,866,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,125,000 after purchasing an additional 86,378 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $116.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $89.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $110.85 and its 200 day moving average is $113.10.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.62.

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.