Maple Brown Abbott Ltd Has $96.52 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Maple Brown Abbott Ltd decreased its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 994,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 76,200 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy comprises 9.9% of Maple Brown Abbott Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd owned 0.13% of Duke Energy worth $96,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.5% during the first quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,845 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,326,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 11,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,227,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.6% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 19,405 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,872,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Duke Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK traded up $1.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $94.50. 1,725,990 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,007,674. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $100.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $72.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. Duke Energy's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.