Philadelphia Trust Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Philadelphia Trust Co. lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,960 shares during the period. Philadelphia Trust Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 57,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,220,000 after buying an additional 4,213 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Trust Co bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $266,000. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 20,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 52,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,670,000 after buying an additional 3,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Duke Energy by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 339,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,573,000 after purchasing an additional 2,130 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. 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 research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $118.81 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.90. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market cap of $92.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

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

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.