Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Has $1.72 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 155.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,782,000 after buying an additional 1,117,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE DUK opened at $115.58 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $110.10 and a 200-day moving average of $113.00. The company has a market cap of $89.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

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.