AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 18,231 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 18,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,964,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 4,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 32.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 4.7% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank increased its stake in Duke Energy by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 8,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 114,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,213,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $117.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $90.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $121.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $114.79 and a 200-day moving average of $113.68.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.20%.

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.