Smith Salley Wealth Management Has $5.55 Million Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Smith Salley Wealth Management reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 516 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 48,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,870,000 after purchasing an additional 3,713 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 8.6% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 35,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 2,814 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,351,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $135,464,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 132.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 15,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $109.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.88. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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 note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.