Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14,268.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $202,858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,608 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $163,819,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $521,322,000 after purchasing an additional 625,008 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $117.61 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $99.21 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.79. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.81.

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.