Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Purchased by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 32,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Scotiabank increased 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $119.42 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $92.75 and a 1-year high of $121.47. The company has a market capitalization of $92.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $115.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.72. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.20%.

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.