Leavell Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 40,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 512 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 7,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 21.6% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 85.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 6,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 3,080 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its position in Duke Energy by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 304,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,101,000 after buying an additional 25,937 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DUK. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank boosted 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. Finally, 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $116.70 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $109.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.85. The company has a market capitalization of $90.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

About Duke Energy

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.