SevenBridge Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 51.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,805 shares during the period. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,378,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its position 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 valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $121.08 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $94.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.75. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $92.75 and a 52 week high of $122.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Duke Energy’s 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.