Harbour Investments Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Harbour Investments Inc. cut its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 122 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in 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 third quarter valued at approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% during the fourth 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. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Duke Energy by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,368,000 after acquiring an additional 561,784 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $120.88 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $113.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.52. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $121.47. The stock has a market cap of $93.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank upped 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. 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Six 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.93.

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.