Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Roxbury Financial LLC

Roxbury Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 246 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for about 1.2% of Roxbury Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Roxbury Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,949,857,000 after buying an additional 124,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after buying an additional 385,612 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 1.6% during 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 buying an additional 135,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $916,168,000 after acquiring an additional 357,967 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $117.61 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $118.76 and a 200-day moving average of $114.82. The company has a market cap of $91.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $99.21 and a 1 year high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.81.

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.