Marco Investment Management LLC Sells 300 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Marco Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 332.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on DUK. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.57.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $114.79 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.22. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $92.75 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $89.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

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.