Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Asset Dedication LLC

Asset Dedication LLC lessened its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 79.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,387 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $455,000. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 5,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 936 shares during the period. Baker Boyer National Bank raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 3,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,350,000. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 8,842 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $953,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $112.28 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $110.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.45. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $86.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

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.