Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Sold by Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lessened its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,016,846,000 after acquiring an additional 442,302 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $264,111,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $2,537,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $113.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $87.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $90.09 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.97.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on DUK. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

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.