Haverford Trust Co Sells 3,071 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Haverford Trust Co decreased its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 24.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,071 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 155.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $222,520,000 after buying an additional 1,111,581 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after acquiring an additional 779,054 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock opened at $118.12 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $91.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $114.39 and a 200-day moving average of $113.66. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.87.

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.