Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Reduces Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,426,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 165,452 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $971,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pitcairn Co. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 6,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $670,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 35,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,471,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 29.2% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $908,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 12.5% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,387,000 after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $113.63 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $89.52 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

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.