Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 104,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,705 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $11,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,846,000 after buying an additional 442,302 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,529,000 after acquiring an additional 135,665 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,368,000 after purchasing an additional 561,784 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,111,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,537,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. 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 research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $116.69 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $112.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.36. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $92.75 and a 52 week high of $121.25.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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 is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 73.20%.

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.