Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Holdings Trimmed by Latitude Advisors LLC

Latitude Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 281 shares during the period. Latitude Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 29.4% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 7,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 1,597 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 22.0% during the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 4,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank increased its stake in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 216,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866 shares in the last quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.4% in the third quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 5,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $679,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of DUK opened at $115.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.79.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

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.