Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lowered its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,735 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 366.7% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 332.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DUK. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.57.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $116.78 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $111.81 and its 200-day moving average is $113.26.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.