Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,462,469 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,782 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up approximately 1.0% of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned approximately 0.19% of Duke Energy worth $157,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.2 %

DUK stock opened at $119.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $92.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $121.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $113.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.61.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on DUK. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Six equities 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 price target of $122.93.

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.