Washington Trust Bank Sells 937 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Washington Trust Bank cut its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 937 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 116.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Duke Energy by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,368,000 after acquiring an additional 561,784 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE DUK opened at $119.01 on Friday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $121.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $114.16 and its 200 day moving average is $113.69.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

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.