1,980 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Purchased by Uniting Wealth Partners LLC

Uniting Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its stake in Duke Energy by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $120.44 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $115.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.80. The company has a market cap of $93.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $122.50. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. Research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.