Dakota Wealth Management Has $2.40 Million Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Dakota Wealth Management lowered its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,109 shares during the quarter. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 332.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $108.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $110.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Scotiabank increased 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. Morgan Stanley cut 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.23.

About Duke Energy

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.