Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Position Decreased by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 64.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,894 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 280.8% in the fourth quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 7,413 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,328,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 2,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. Novus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $537,000. Finally, Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 15,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,695,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on DUK. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. 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 research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.57.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $116.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $90.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $111.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 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 given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 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.