Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 549 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 549 shares during the quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $115.58 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $89.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $110.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.00.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DUK. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.62.

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.