Blair William & Co. IL Cuts Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $10,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $119.42 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.70. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $92.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy 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.