Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Position Trimmed by Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC

Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC decreased its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 54.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,843 shares during the quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $714,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $147,000. GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,891,000. Facet Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Ninepoint Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 11,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 192,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,753,000 after buying an additional 21,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six investment 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of DUK opened at $120.29 on Monday. 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 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.40 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend 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.