Schroder Investment Management Group Purchases 193,381 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 27.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 892,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 193,381 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.12% of Duke Energy worth $96,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $29,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of 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 research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $119.42 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.68. 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 posted its 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%. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 73.20%.

About Duke Energy

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.