Sawyer & Company Inc Has $1.02 Million Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Sawyer & Company Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 583 shares during the quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.75.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $115.42 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.21 and a 1-year high of $125.27. The firm has a market cap of $89.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $117.95 and a 200-day moving average of $114.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.32%.

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.