3,426 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Purchased by Asset Planning Inc

Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,426 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $129,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,526 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded down $0.75 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $110.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,726,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,323,273. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $109.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $85.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 76.84%.

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.