Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Cuts Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 253,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 42,502 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $24,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 23,010,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,157 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,468,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $923,907,000 after purchasing an additional 492,011 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.7% during the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,635,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $864,652,000 after purchasing an additional 257,665 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $698,923,000 after purchasing an additional 144,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 100,433.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,846,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $808,123,000 after purchasing an additional 7,838,811 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DUK shares. KeyCorp upped their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America cut Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

DUK stock opened at $96.29 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $94.14 and its 200 day moving average is $93.03. The stock has a market cap of $74.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $83.06 and a 1-year high of $100.39.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 115.49%.

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.