Modera Wealth Management LLC Sells 561 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Modera Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 561 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.62.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

DUK stock opened at $118.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $90.22 and a 1-year high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $111.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.16.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.