Patten Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Patten Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 426 shares during the quarter. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,529,000 after purchasing an additional 135,665 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $705,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $118.62 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $111.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.16. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.22 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $91.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.