Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Thrive Wealth Management LLC

Thrive Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $129,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,526 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $109.34 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.97. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

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.