Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Reduces Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc cut its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 238 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during 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 buying an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,526 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,769,000 after purchasing an additional 813,744 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 9,923.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 769,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,103,000 after purchasing an additional 761,590 shares during the period. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the first quarter valued at $36,278,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.85.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $114.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.47. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $86.61 and a one year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.57.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.84 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.98%.

Duke Energy Company 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.