Community Financial Services Group LLC Cuts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Community Financial Services Group LLC cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,088 shares during the quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Duke Energy stock opened at $116.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $109.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.85. The company has a market capitalization of $90.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six investment 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

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.