Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Has $10.95 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 101,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,154 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $10,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 332.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $110.85 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.98. 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 $85.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 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 given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.