B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 3,299 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,299 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Armis Advisers LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $488,000. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $2,458,000. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $234,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $355,000. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:DUK traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $115.36. 2,292,764 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,436,951. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.21 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $118.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.71. The company has a market capitalization of $89.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim raised their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.