Principle Wealth Partners LLC Has $4.51 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,898 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 332.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

DUK opened at $115.50 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $109.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.79. The firm has a market cap of $89.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $90.09 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

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.