Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,170 Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sulzberger Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,170 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE DUK traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $121.59. 2,720,048 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,379,198. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $99.21 and a 52 week high of $125.27. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $119.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.57. The company has a market cap of $94.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.87.

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.