Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Mather Group LLC.

Mather Group LLC. lessened its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,440 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 145.0% in the fourth quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DUK. KeyCorp increased their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $98.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $83.06 and a 12 month high of $100.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.94.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Company 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.