Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 290 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lessened its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 100.0% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on DUK. Mizuho raised shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK opened at $110.67 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $110.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.46. The company has a market capitalization of $85.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $90.09 and a 1 year high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.84%.

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.