Headlands Technologies LLC Acquires 4,557 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 69.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,557 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after acquiring an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,930,833,000 after buying an additional 385,612 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,529,000 after buying an additional 135,665 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,368,000 after buying an additional 561,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,537,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $121.08 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $122.50. The company has a market cap of $94.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $115.63 and a 200 day moving average of $113.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

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, topping 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, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

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.