Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Camden National Bank

Camden National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 74,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 518 shares during the quarter. Camden National Bank’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in 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. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 112.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 1,002,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,624,000 after buying an additional 531,073 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $116.78 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.25. The company has a market capitalization of $90.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (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, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUK has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target 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. Scotiabank raised their price target 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. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.57.

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.