Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Has $1.67 Million Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,072 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 68,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,461,000 after purchasing an additional 18,604 shares during the period. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 39,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,238,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 13,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $618,000. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 15,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 3,150 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of DUK opened at $112.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The firm has a market cap of $86.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $109.91 and its 200-day moving average is $112.65.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.