Grant Private Wealth Management Inc Takes $274,000 Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Grant Private Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 173,616.7% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 41,692 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,807,000 after purchasing an additional 41,668 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 14.7% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 581,498 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $66,999,000 after purchasing an additional 74,689 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 96,936 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,173,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,379,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.87.

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Duke Energy Trading Down 4.1 %

DUK traded down $5.14 on Friday, reaching $118.91. 8,331,742 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,292,560. The company has a market cap of $92.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a PEG 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 twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The company's 50 day moving average is $116.33 and its 200-day moving average is $113.88.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.20%.

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.