Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 385,612 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,930,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim increased their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $122.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $94.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.73. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $92.75 and a 52 week high of $122.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.20%.

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.