River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 18,312 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

River Road Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 94,284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 18,312 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $10,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,368,000 after buying an additional 561,784 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $117.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $112.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.34. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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 net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given 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 3.55%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.