Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 4,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 6,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,941,000 after buying an additional 9,070 shares during the period. apricus wealth LLC raised its position in Duke Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 20,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,159,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,536,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of DUK opened at $109.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $84.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.21.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

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.