Choate Investment Advisors Purchases Shares of 4,988 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Choate Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $537,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.93.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:DUK opened at $120.29 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $93.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $92.75 and a one year high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

About Duke Energy

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.