Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 36.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,618 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the 3rd 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 acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in 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 period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the 3rd 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 period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Up 2.1 %

DUK stock opened at $115.58 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $89.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $110.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price 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 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Company 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.