United Services Automobile Association Cuts Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

United Services Automobile Association reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,852,731,000 after buying an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,016,846,000 after acquiring an additional 442,302 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,529,000 after purchasing an additional 135,665 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,368,000 after purchasing an additional 561,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $2,537,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $119.01 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market cap of $92.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $114.16 and a 200 day moving average of $113.65.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.