Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Sells 21,116 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 41.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 21,116 shares during the quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.00.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of DUK traded up $0.28 on Tuesday, hitting $117.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,459,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,425,722. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $119.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.57. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Duke Energy's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.32%.

Duke Energy 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.