United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 719 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 42,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 719 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $163,819,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,581 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,368,000 after purchasing an additional 561,784 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $120.45 on Thursday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $93.20 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $117.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.01.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.87.

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.