Larson Financial Group LLC Acquires 1,746 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 56.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,746 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $523,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,016,846,000 after purchasing an additional 442,302 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,529,000 after buying an additional 135,665 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $264,111,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,537,000. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted 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 valued at $222,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim upped their price target 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 lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.57.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $116.78 on Monday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $92.75 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $111.81 and its 200-day moving average is $113.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.