Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 32,613 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,298,869 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 32,613 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.17% of Duke Energy worth $139,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $163,819,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted 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 valued at $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $222,520,000 after buying an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth 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. Finally, Amundi raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 561,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK traded up $1.54 during trading on Monday, reaching $120.48. 3,178,528 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,373,158. The company has a market capitalization of $93.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.89. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.