Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 102,284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,102 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $11,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 43,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,026,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 14.6% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 12,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $200,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 230.7% during the third quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 67,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,754,000 after buying an additional 46,915 shares during the period. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of DUK opened at $115.01 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $109.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $88.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

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.