Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Acquires 594 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 594 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $17,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares in the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,852,000 after buying an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $384,000. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,032,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DUK. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.93.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $120.88 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.75 and a fifty-two week high of $121.47. The stock has a market cap of $93.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $113.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.52.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

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.