Forte Capital LLC ADV Sells 238 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Forte Capital LLC ADV lowered its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 238 shares during the quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5.5% in the fourth 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 during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $1,032,000. CCM Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 24.3% in the fourth 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 during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Corundum Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth $1,566,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $113.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $109.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.97. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Scotiabank increased their target price on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six 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 target price of $122.08.

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.