Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 5,083 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,083 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of DUK. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 188,483 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,307,000 after acquiring an additional 30,441 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 32,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,463,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $234,000. Finally, Guardian Capital LP boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 27,266 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,938,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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, Barclays upped their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $121.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,720,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,379,198. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. 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 firm has a market cap of $94.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's 50 day moving average is $119.04 and its 200-day moving average is $114.57.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Duke Energy Company 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.