Advisors Asset Management Inc. Buys 3,201 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,201 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given 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 $123.64.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $120.17 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $92.75 and a 52 week high of $121.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $113.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (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%. Analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 73.20%.

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.