UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Has $5.64 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd trimmed its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,929 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings 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 boosted its position in Duke Energy by 116.5% during 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 period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.67 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $114.97 and a 200-day moving average of $113.71. The company has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $92.75 and a 1-year high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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%.

Duke Energy Company 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.