Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stake Lowered by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lowered its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,173 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,513,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 153,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,513,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 143.3% in the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 888,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,706,000 after purchasing an additional 523,251 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 27,990.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 101,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,956,000 after buying an additional 101,327 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 37,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,092,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $119.42 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.70. The company has a market cap of $92.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, 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 $121.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

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.