Patten & Patten Inc. TN Sells 1,229 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN reduced its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 63,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,229 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $120.29 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $112.86 and its 200 day moving average is $113.46. The stock has a market cap of $93.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG 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 12-month low of $92.75 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued 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 return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.93.

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.