FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co Reduces Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 244,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,110 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for approximately 1.9% of FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $26,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 112.6% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 1,002,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,624,000 after buying an additional 531,073 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $116.34 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.67 and a 200 day moving average of $113.08. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.