Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Thrive Wealth Management LLC

Thrive Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,324,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Duke Energy by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 5,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DUK. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on 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. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.23.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $109.34 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.97.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio 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.