GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Has $6.55 Million Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 818 shares during the quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $1,891,000. Facet Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $204,000. Ninepoint Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 11,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,210,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 192,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,753,000 after buying an additional 21,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, one8zero8 LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $7,021,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Six equities 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $120.29 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $93.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $112.86 and a 200-day moving average of $113.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.