Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Constitution Capital LLC

Constitution Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,254 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for approximately 1.9% of Constitution Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Constitution Capital LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,117,526 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $109.34. 2,928,344 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,052,767. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company's 50 day moving average is $110.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.81. The company has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. Duke Energy's 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.