Armor Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Armor Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,101 shares during the period. Armor Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 52,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 83,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,008,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,032,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,941,000 after purchasing an additional 9,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,566,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp cut Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $115.50 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $109.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.79. The company has a market capitalization of $89.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.