Boston Research & Management Inc. Sells 158 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Boston Research & Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,951,000 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 business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Intergy Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $119.42 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $92.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.68. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $121.47.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. Guggenheim upped their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

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.