Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Sells 2,870 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,870 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Duke Energy by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 224,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,817,000 after acquiring an additional 48,132 shares during the last quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 25,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,726,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 121.5% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 4,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 31,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,059,000 after buying an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

DUK traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.36. 1,140,842 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,992,694. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $100.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.