Sawyer & Company Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sawyer & Company Inc boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the period. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Duke Energy by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 6,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Triangle Securities Wealth Management grew its stake in Duke Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 25,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. 63.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Louis E. Renjel sold 1,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.90, for a total value of $189,810.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $995,703.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $96.39 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $99.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.76 and a twelve month high of $116.33. The stock has a market cap of $74.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.42.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 8.45%. The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 17th were issued a $1.005 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 16th. This represents a $4.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $116.00 to $112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.64.

Duke Energy Profile

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Duke Energy Corp. engages in the distribution of natural gas and energy related services. It operates through the following segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure, Gas Utilities & Infrastructure and Commercial Renewables. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure segment conducts operations in regulated electric utilities in the Carolinas, Florida and the Midwest.