Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 364,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,924 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $39,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,846,000 after acquiring an additional 442,302 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,529,000 after acquiring an additional 135,665 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Duke Energy by 29.2% during the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $2,537,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim raised their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

DUK opened at $119.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $92.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $115.17 and its 200-day moving average is $113.68. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.20%.

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.