Claro Advisors LLC Sells 885 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Claro Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 885 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,888,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,008,000 after buying an additional 16,356 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 59.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 23,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,697,000 after buying an additional 8,699 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during 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 buying an additional 442,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 269,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,041,000 after buying an additional 15,069 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $106.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,334,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,845,230. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company has a market capitalization of $82.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $111.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.79. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.31% and a return on equity of 9.34%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

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.