1,346 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Bought by Physician Wealth Advisors Inc.

Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $145,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 125.9% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 48,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,579,000 after buying an additional 26,965 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $758,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $210,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $119.42 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.17 and a 200-day moving average of $113.68. The company has a market cap of $92.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Company 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.