Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC Sells 7,843 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 54.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,843 shares during the quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DUK. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.93.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK opened at $120.29 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $112.86 and a 200-day moving average of $113.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.20%.

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.