First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Sells 8,822 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,822 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 332.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of DUK opened at $109.86 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a PEG 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.21.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Duke Energy Company 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.