Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Duke Energy accounts for about 1.1% of Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 145.0% in the fourth quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on DUK. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.62.

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK traded up $1.24 on Wednesday, hitting $99.50. The company had a trading volume of 922,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,943,049. The stock has a market cap of $76.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $99.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.94.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.